Bayville, Intergrated
by Rogue-Demon
Summary: When a downtown school is bombed, half it's students are transferred to Bayville High. A majority mutant class with nothing to fear of their powers or low IQs cause problems and hilarity for the school's superheros and villians. DISCONTINUED
1. Yearbooks Photos and Signatures

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the students and faculty from Ripley minus Tara, Nanaki (Takamo's property) and Julius, Margolian, Damien, Natasha (Rejected Angel Hell's Gate or somethin's property). I have nothing except a white painted, asylum bedroom with cut out pictures, a Superman poster, and a theater masks poster. Tell me, would you sue? It would be rather pointless.  
  
CHAPTER ONE  
  
Charles Xavier stared at the television screen with a strange mix of emotions. He was angry at the news crew for turning the events into a three-ring circus but saddened to watch the students. Most appeared emotionless about the attack but a few cried.  
  
"Professor, why hasn't anything like this happened to Bayville High? If they can do this..." Scott Summers indicated the television screen just as the footage of the exact bombing was showed again. "Why not here?"  
  
"Fear, Scott. They're afraid for their own children; that school is majority mutant. Bayville High, on the other hand, contains most of this town and the people capable of that's children. It's the fear of hurting their own,"he explained, patiently, folding his hands together.  
  
Rogue spoke up from her armchair to the left of the screen. "It's lahke burnin' down your own home to kill a mouse, ain't it?" she offered with only the barest look up from her book. It was a novel involving demons or vampire from the cover art. She always seemed to have some form of bloody, violence filled novel on hand; it was a little creepy.  
  
"Exactly, Rogue."  
  
"What will happen to the students? They wouldn't be left uneducated during this time...would they?" Jean Grey turned away to look at them. Her forehead was creased with worry lines and her eyes much too bright.  
  
Xavier sighed. There was so much none of them understood. He was the most disappointed that Jean and Scott had to ask. The answers to their questions were obvious.  
  
"Of course not. They will be split among local schools..."  
  
"At least we know they won't be sent to Bayville," Scott said to the sounds of cheering from the new recruits. He looked toward Jean but found her frowning and shaking her head.  
  
"What makes you positive of this, Scott?" Xavier's words weren't angry, but it was obvious he wasn't pleased with their attitudes. He'd expected more support, mainly from his oldest students; anything but this coldness toward their own kind.  
  
"Because it's crowded already and there's a lot of mutant riot activities, and uh...it's a majority normal school," he said, words faltering the entire time.   
  
"Nice way to open your mouth and insert ya foot, Summers," Rogue answered, instead with her graish gray-black smirk. She closed the book slowly after memorizing the page. She cast him an amused but dark look.  
  
"That's enough, Rogue. Some of their students will be attending Bayville High until repairs are finished. I expect you all to treat them with respect and kindness." His gaze leveled on where the newer recruits were throwing popcorn at each other. All movements stopped. "Make friends but don't grow attached."  
  
"In Lamen terms," Rogue began, standing to stretch then making her way out of the room. She finished over her shoulder. "Don't get attached and Jean, hands to yourself."  
  
"Rogue!" The shout was almost unanimous from the other students and the professor, who simply shook his head.  
  
Xavier cleared his throat then wheeled himself around at Ororo's entrance. He took the book she offered and gave it to one of the students, offering it toward them all. "The pictures with blue outlines will be students that join the high school. A black line with it means they're mutants," he explained then turned back to Ororo. His full attention went to her. "There's a meeting with the prinicipal of Ripley. I'd like you and Logan to attend."  
  
How could I be so stupid? Scott wondered once Xavier was gone. The new recruits were poured over the yearbook to examine it's occupants; Bobby and Ray took turns commenting. I made myself look like a fool and insensitive. I'm such an idiot.  
  
Stop beating yourself up, Scott. We all made a mistake by assuming too soon, Jean said through her telepathy. Her voice wasn't accusing but the tone wasn't exactly friendly. It was almost neutral with a cool edge.  
  
Sorry. Am I projecting?  
  
Very much. Come look at the new ones. They don't seem like a bad group, just a little worse for wear, she sent back but motioned for him to come over to the table.  
  
He didn't want to but had always had a hard time to saying no to Jean. He made his way over to them, avoiding several scattered books and plants; he nudged Jamie aside. A bad move since it caused two of him to appear.  
  
"Why can't all mutants look normal?" Jubilee asked around a mouthful of pink gum. She tapped her fingers against the blue and black outlined frame.   
  
It was on a picture of a black girl with spiked pink hair; black roots were just able to be seen. Her lips were almost painted into an unrecognizable black non-smile while her eyes were dark brown. The collar of a blue polo shirt could also be seen at the bottom of the picture.  
  
"Don't judge people, Jubilee." Jean flipped through the pages until it came to another picture with the same outlines. Her expression tipped into a smile. "Now see? They're not all 'different'."  
  
"Hey, he's kind of cute," Rahne pointed out then studied him with interest.  
  
To Scott, the guy looked like a drug addict. His eyes were reddish-tinted and slightly smaller than normal size. Brown hair fell over his forehead, covering part of a large scar down the left side; his expression had a complete frown-smirk. The expression reminded him too much of Rogue's 'real' death glares. Even Logan left her alone during those or kept his eyes averted.   
  
"Vill you stop discussing zem like science expriments?" Kurt demanded, coming into the room, without the protection of his image inducer. He walked over to look down at the pictures. "Zey might not be so bad."  
  
"Kurt, we're just trying to learn something about the new students before we actually meet them," Jean said, giving him an encouraging smile. He still wasn't always comfortable around them with such topics. She flipped through several empty pages while the others offered their agreements. Signatures jumped off the back gray pages along with random words from bright color ink. Every color from black to pink covered the connected sheets of paper.  
  
"Give up smoking, Landon. Cigarettes will kill you. Tara'? What is with these kids?"  
  
"I don't know,"came the reply from the three Jamie in the doorway. They entered more like a unit then one person multiplied. "We have a training session with Logan."  
  
The new recruits visibly cringed, but after a moment longer, they followed him from the room. Their voiced complaints and mumbles were barely heard after their footsteps had begun to fade away toward the training room.  
  
Scott waited until they were gone to pick up the year book and flip to the back, scanning the signatures there. Marks, like twin fangs, rested in the center of one page along with the scrawled name of someone; a very short name.  
  
"Did someone bite it, Jean?"  
  
"Um..." Jean was at a loss for words.  
  
"Okay. Pick us a student; let's broaden our horizons through them.."   
  
He really didn't want to but he knew it's what the Professor wanted. He'd do it for his oldest mentor and teacher. It was the best he could do for the man that had taken him in and helped him learn to control the strange powers he'd been given; it would never be enough.  
  
Jean flipped several pages until the Ts came into view. It took a few more minutes and a page flip to find another blue and black outlined student-Tara Toynbee.  
  
"Wow, Toad got a sex change."  
  
"That's not funny, Scott. She will be one of the new students but it appears that she is indeed mutated like Toad."  
  
What was your first clue, Jean? He wanted to demand the question and shake her but refrained with an inward struggle that he hoped was hidden from him. She barely looked in his direction, intent upon the yearbook photos.  
  
"There will also be several new faculty members...a sexual education teacher, a wood shop instructor, and a French teacher," she explained, pointing toward the pages that held the faculty pictures. It only stretched across two half a pages. "They're, basically, just to 'watch' their students. It's meant to make sure that there aren't any unnecessary or necessary problems caused during their stay."  
  
"This one looks too young to be a teacher," Scot told her, examining one of the teachers. She was red-headed and scowling; there was hardly a thing pleasant about her. "Nanaki Creed."  
  
Xavier spoke to both their minds with his telepathy. You two will need to come to my office for a few moments. It concerns the new students.  
  
Is something wrong, Professor? Jean answered but was already on her way to his office with the yearbook. Scott caught up and fell into step with her.  
  
Wait until you're here...  
  
Scott and Jean entered his office exactly ten minutes after his last words to them, immediately noticing the other adults present. They seemed to be the youngest people present but the others did no more then nod before returning to their respective position.  
  
"Scott, Jean, please have a seat." Xavier's voice was gentle but there was an authoritive edge to it. He nodded to Logan and the door was closed. There was a tense silence for a moment before he began introductions. "These are several of our new faculty members. Margolian, Damien, and Nanaki....these are two of my oldest students, Scott Summers and Jean Grey."  
  
Margolian nodded, though, the move was barely recognized since he wore sunglasses, indoor. Scott opened his mouth to ask but was stopped by a nudge and shake of Jean's head. Damien shook both their hands before returning to his post beside Logan without a word to anyone in the room. Nananki, straight from the picture, said something then gave then a tight-lipped smile.  
  
Xavier continued after their introductions. "This is the principal of Ripley High School, Katherine O'Brien...she's an old... friend of mine," he said, giving her a smile which she returned, though, hers was a little weaker.  
  
Katherine O'Brien was tall with brown hair twisted into a tight knot on her head. It looked like it hurt to have it up there but Scott made no comment. Her clothes were made up of well fitting jeans paired with a simple red, button-down shirt and a pair of hiking boots that were laced tightly. A pair of glasses hung around her neck on a string of bead-like circles but otherwise she looked like someone's rather normal mother.  
  
Scott, Jean, stop letting your minds wander and don't project.  
  
Katherine was the one to speak out loud first. "It's alright, Charles. I'm sure my appearance must be a bit strange, knowing how professional Prinicpal Kelly is," she explained, inclining her head toward them. Her smile never wavered. "Ripley isn't quite as..." She cast around for the right word. "Trussed up as Bayville. It's more casual and in the downtown area."  
  
Jean nodded. "Of course, Mrs. O'Brien."  
  
"It's Katherine. Most of my students refer to me that way rather then Mrs." Her attention searched each of their faces, stopping on Margolian for the longest before returning to Xavier. "Charles, are you sure there won't be a problem with the students attending? They might be a little..." Again she cast around for the right words. "Out of sync with your students."  
  
"Things will be fine, Katherine. I'm sure Bayville can take anything they can create..."  
  
Katherine O'Brien smiled but there was an uneasiness to it. None of the three new teachers showed much expression except Nanaki's smirk and shake of head; she smiled for a moment then spoke, quietly, almost silently.   
  
Few beyond Logan and the telepaths caught her words.  
  
"We'll see. They're very out of sync."  
  
SNEAK PEEK: Bayville becomes integrated and things go bad during an assembly with the new students. RANDOM LINE:  
  
"Hey, you there! Smoking is not allowed on school grounds,"Jean announced, going straight up to the group and crossing her arms while shaking her head disapprovingly. Her eyes went to the deck of cards. "Neither is betting." 


	2. Smoking and Betting aren't Allowed

Rogue walked into school, late. Her head was throbbing, rain had wrecked most of her make-up and made her look like a clown, and at some point she'd realized that Jamie or Bobby one had managed to get syrup in her hair. Murder had never looked like such a good option but she walked into the principal's office, going straight to the receptionist.  
  
"Ah need a slip foh class,"she said without any further greeting. She glared at the woman behind the counter, who quickly nodded and went to speak with Prinicipal Kelly. Rogue allowed herself to look around the office with it's crowd once she'd vanished into the office and shut the door.  
  
It was full to the brim with students. Not normal students but new ones. One guy in a brown leather bomber jacket leaned against one wall, smoking a cigarette while a girl with short, green streaked hair and gothic clothing that resembled Toad sat nearby, telling him how bad it was for him. There was a guy with a cloak on but yellow eyes glittering from their depths; another girl in baggy, holey clothes who sat on the floor, flipping through some motorcycle magazine; another one of each, guy and girl, sat with their hands locked together while small, almost invisible lines of blood ran down their hands.. The girl wore jeans, a bright pink tank top, and a black sweatshirt tied around her waist while the guy wore a trenchcoat and combat boots. Another girl with spiked pink hair; a guy with his eyes glued to the computer screen; a guy faking interest in the clock. The last one was a woman, probably a new teacher, with red hair in a trenchcoat, jeans, and boots.   
  
If these are the new students, Xavier ain't got nuthin' to worry 'bout, she thought with a smug smirk at being the first to meet them. The one girl was too much of a reminder of Jean unless one noticed the boots, sweatshirt, and black streaks through her hair. Ah wonder what Jean and Summers are gonna think of this lot...  
  
The receptionist cleared her throat and held out the note on a yellow sheet of paper. Her gaze went to the students but it wasn't a polite look; it was more, what did I do to deserve this.  
  
Rogue took the note, gave the woman her best death glare, then made her way from the room.   
  
The guy in the cloak made a comment that stopped her in her tracks for a moment. "Fresh meat,"he said, quietly with a hiss to his voice.  
  
She sent him a patented death glare and almost went to remove her glove. After a moment, she thought better of it and simply walked out, slamming the door hard enough to shatter the glass. Several curses came from the inner office along with a shout of "Principal Kelly".   
  
"Works every tahm,"she said, satisfied then proceeded her way to class. She handed the note over, waited a moment, then slumped into her chair, ignoring Kitty's look and hand gesture. She took out a binder and pencil and opened the one, beginning to color in the margin until it started to turn gray.  
  
"So good of you to finally join us, Rogue,"the teacher said, though her voice said she'd rather not teach mutants or anyone other than the model student. She went to the board and began to write across the screen with a piece of chalk; her handwriting stretched from one side to the other.  
  
"Tha pleasure's all mahn,"Rogue answered, sarcastically but copied down the notes or at least what she considered important. She'd almost colored in the entire margin when the bell rang; all heads except hers shot up to look toward the disturbance.   
  
Kitty's intake of breathe finally made her look up. "New students..."  
  
Prinicipal Kelly stood there along with two of the students from the office. The guy that had been smoking, minus his cigarette, and the girl with spiked pink hair. Neither seemed interested in their surroundings; her eyes roamed the classroom while he stared down at his feet with a scowl.  
  
The teacher took her place at the front again. "Class, we've recieved two new students. This is Landon Keller and Kellie Senethesis...I expect you wil make them feel welcome within our school,"she recited from memory without a breathe. After a moment she stepped back. "Landon, Kellie, tell us something about yourselves."  
  
Landon went first, looking up to meet any eyes that would meet his. He lifted both hands as claws made of pure white bone slid forward and out then smiled. "I'm a mutant. Don't like it? That's not my problem,"he said before inserting them back into his hands. It took longer then Logan's to heal but they healed, none the less.  
  
Rogue remembered something Xavier had said. Majority mutant. Ah, hell. We get all tha mutant kids that were rejected from tha other schools. Damn ya, Xavier.  
  
I heard that, Rogue.  
  
She shuddered at the thought then listened to Kellie. Kellie was less threatening but simply shrugged and mumbled,"I'm only here until my school's back."  
  
"Well wasn't that stimulating?"one of the guys joked, waving one hand in an applause attempt. The others around him laughed while Kitty rolled her eyes.  
  
"Like what a loser,"she said before returning her attention to the front of the room. Landon and Kellie were taking seats. Odd part was that they sat on opposite sides of the room and never once glanced at each other; they didn't even speak.  
  
"That's enough back there,"the teacher called then handed out several worksheets before making more notes on the board. The new students wrote MOST of their work down but some of it wasn't written; more often then not they faced taunting from other students.  
  
Rogue felt a flash of sympathy toward them but covered it. This wasn't her fight; it was theirs. She had her own issues to maintain: no skin contact, keeping Lance informed on his work while he was suspended, and trying to avoid getting into too much trouble with the X-Men. That was a full plate and then some.  
  
"Rogue, are you listening?" The sharp voice penetrated through her day dream and brought her out, rather abruptly.  
  
She pasted on a look of interest that was quickly masked into one of irritation by her make-up. "Of course, sugah. Don't ah always listen in ya class?"  
  
"Sarcasm isn't a paying job, miss."  
  
"It seems to work well enough for you,"Landon pointed out, twirling a pen around on one finger by balancing the cap on the pad of his finger. It held for all of twenty seconds before one of the other guys knocked it off. He caught the guys hand and twisted until he leaned over the desk in pain..  
  
The teacher stalked back to them and glared at the new student. "That's enough, Landon. I don't know what kind of deliquient behavior you're used to getting away with but I will not tolerate it in my classroom. There's the door if you must leave..."  
  
He sat there a moment then shrugged and stood, gathering his things. "I'll go discuss it with Kelly. Thanks for your time." He obviously didn't mean the words.  
  
Kellie remained silent even after he'd left the room, pulling the door shut quietly rather than slamming it like most students. She continued to stared down at her notebook.  
  
"Would anyone else like to leave class?"their teacher demanded, glowering at her students while making her way to the front of the class. She leaned against her desk. "If you can't follow the rules, get out. That goes especially for mutant students who think they're too good for this course and it's students,"she said as her gaze leveled on Rogue.  
  
Screw it, Rogue thought then stood, shoving her things into her bag. She made her way to the door and halfway out before speaking.  
  
"This ain't a requirment. Screw you and screw this class,"she said pleasantly then slammed the door to the sound of kitty's "Rogue!"  
  
"Jean, your hair looks fine." Scott Summers waited with what patience remained for her to stop checking her hair in his mirror and get out of the car. He played with the dial on his visor then stared up as if the perfect girlfriend would fall out of the car.  
  
Jean Grey climbed out of the car, finally, brushing invisible dirt from her shirt then gave him a smile. "I just want to look good for our talk, Scott. It's good to present a stable, well-adjusted, well-mannered front when speaking to young people about being motivated,"she said, directly from the pamphlet Xavier had given them. The information was committed to memory.  
  
"That's lovely, Jean. We were suppoused to start at eleven-thirty, it's....eleven-thirty-two." He held up his watch as though he expected some argument. He recieved none.  
  
She tossed her hair once around her shoulders then started to walk inside. Scott rolled his eyes but followed her, locking his car and placing the keys in one of his pockets. There was little to no student traffic in the halls as there used to be unless one was to count the group of kids gathered around one of the lockers.  
  
The leader, apparantly from his position, held a cigarette between two fingers while balancing a deck of cards in the other hand and cutting them as he went without burning himself. Combat boots and a black trenchcoat billowed around him with the air of power. Two girls stood with him but one seemed more interested in her magazine while the other was boredly thumbing through a novel. Another guy, this one in a brown leather-like bomber jacket, drew a card, stared a moment, then replaced it in the deck, giving another, shorter girl money.  
  
"Hey, you there! Smoking is not allowed on school grounds,"Jean announced, going straight up to the group and crossing her arms while shaking her head disapprovingly. Her eyes went to the deck of cards. "Neither is betting."  
  
"Ain't bettin',"the girl with the book said with a smirk before taking the guy's cigarette, rubbing the end between two fingers, and placing it in her mouth. She held the cigarette there and the smoke in for a moment then removed it, blowing out a somewhat misshapen ring. "It ain't even really nuthin' but Go Fish."  
  
Her words dripped with sarcasm. The leader took his cigarette back, replacing it in his mouth after flicking a card at her. "Angel, what have I said about taking my cigarettes?"he asked, dropping the deck into the pocket of his trenchcoat. The money vanished into the shorter girl's pocket and after a moment the cigarette had been put out in the other guy's hand. None of them batted an eyelash at such a display..  
  
Oh, gosh. A mutant problem. Normals were easier to face then mutant problems...  
  
"Cards and cigarettes. Now." Jean held out her hand then waited. There was silence a moment followed by an exchanged look before the shorter girl spoke, ignoring the magazine reader's hit to her legs.  
  
"Give her your cigarettes, Julius." He handed over the pack with a scowl. "And the cards..." He handed over those as well. "And now we'll go on to the gym, won't we?" Her voice held no room for arguement.  
  
"Yes, Tara,"came the chorus of voices. Almost in unison, the group turned and began walking away. The slip of hand that exchanged the money and another package of cigarettes between them was lost to the two college students.   
  
"Who are they?"Scott asked, coming up beside her just as she dumped the cigarettes and cards into the nearby garbage can. They hit the cushion of paper and other garbage. "I don't recognize any of them."  
  
"I do." Jean dug around in her oversized purse a moment then pulled out the yearbook they'd been given. She flipped it open and pointed to several pictures. "Julius Kanteon. Landon Keller....before that, Angel Blade. Natasha Creed. After that, Tara Toynbee. They're some of the new students."  
  
"Oh. Should their behavior be reported to Xavier? Smoking and betting aren't allowed on school grounds..."  
  
She waved away the comment with one hand then resumed her walk to the gym. "I don't think so. Unless it's life or death, maybe we should just leave them alone. For the moment,"she said, opening the yearbook to the back. "I'm kind of intersted in some of them."  
  
On the last page of the year book in bright red ink was printed a message.  
  
Landon, you irritate the hell out of me. I think you need to get therapy for some things. Love, Angel  
  
It was followed by an empty box with his name printed across in block letters. The rest of the page was blank since hers took up almost the entire thing.  
  
Yeah, sounds like a great kid. 'You irritate the hell out of me'. Scott shook his head but followed her until they reached the gym. It was already packed with students from Bayville but almost one entire section was filled with strange faces, a few familiar from the hall. The leader was there, cigarette in hand.  
  
Prinicipal Kelly strode forward once they were seated and spoke into a microphone. "Students, calm down. This assembly is to discuss getting you motivated for the real world. I'd also like to see more integration between the schools..." His gaze leveled on the new group of students then he motioned toward Katherine O'Brien. She came forward, casting a quick look toward her students.  
  
"Ripley students, I expect you to behave within a resonable manner and show Prinicipal Kelly the right amount of respect." She didn't speak angrily or even with a raised voice but instantly the rowdy bunch settled down.  
  
Their attention and ears came foward, replacing the previous, childish behavior, then. The magazine and novel were put up again, into someone's backpack and 'Angel', as the yearbook identified her, lifted her head from trying to sleep while 'Julius' put his cigarette out. The others turned forward, looking ashamed at this woman catching them behavior so badly; it took no time at all for them to straighten out.   
  
Katherine stepped back and took her seat after a moment. Prinicipal Kelly came foward again, glancing briefly at the well behaved students that now sat before him.  
  
"These students are only here for a few months until their school can be repaired. I fear some of them will be graduating with you,"he continued without ever looking away from the group. There was a chorus of yelling and commotion from the stands. One look from their own prinicipal and they were silent as the grave. Kelly held the un-met gazes before turning to the other students, students he had known for longer time. "That would be enough. I expect you to treat them all with respect even those not completely like you."  
  
The mutant students and also faculty added the unmentioned word. Mutants. The words were a clear, forewarning that the new students weren't that normal. Kelly was automatically setting the standards; things couldn't end peaceful.  
  
Landon Keller was not in the mood to play the game or suffer through endless chatter from the people he'd be spending the next few months with. He'd walked out of his first two classes after confrontations and then spent the others, silently, contemplating ways to get out of staying at a strange, new school.  
  
"Penny for your thoughts," Tara said, looking away from the calculator she was busy playing with. She deleted something then pushed it away to study him.  
  
He scowled. "My thoughts are worth more then a penny."  
  
"Dollar for your thoughts?" Julius held out the dollar, smirking. His smirk vanished when it was taken and shredded right in front of him. "That ain't even cool, dude."  
  
"I was just thinking of ways to get out of this place," he answered then poked at the items 'floating' around on his tray, literally. He poked a few french fries with his fork then looked toward the other end. Angel gave him a sunny smile which dropped at his scowl. "Put my food down." It hit the tray, splattering on several others down the table; he cringed.   
  
"Your welcome."  
  
"I hate yo---" He stopped in mid-speech when a couple of guys came up from the football team. Their leader was a blonde-haired guy with a letter jacket; he looked up and down the five of them for a moment before speaking.  
  
"You the new students?" he asked with the air of someone that honestly didn't care.  
  
Landon rose, used to the tone. "Yeah. You got a problem with it?"  
  
That brightened a smile from the boy. "Of course not. We just wanted to meet you guys...I'm Duncan." He held out one hand. It was ignored.  
  
"Landon. This is Tara, Russ, Julius, and Angel...." He hesitated to say anymore or return to his seat.  
  
"So tell me...Landon, what's a freak school like?"  
  
He started to move, intending to show him how they settled such comments there but he thought better and froze, waiting. As he'd thought Julius rose to his defense, releasing Angel's hand from his death grip; she slipped the bleeding hand into her jacket pocket, beginning to eat.  
  
"Why doesn't he show you by playing a little game we 'muties' like to play? You win, we'll tell you all about Ripley. One of us wins, you go streaking through school. We'll explain the rules then let you pick an opponent from anyone sitting here, except Tara; she thinks it's stupid and a waste of time." Julius smirked, waiting for the challenge to be accepted or denied.  
  
Duncan didn't disappoint; he accepted. Landon listened throughout the rules explanation. It was a simple game with no tightly except 'The Game'. Not many people played it, fluently, but their crowd did. More often then not it was between the ones seated there and Jax, since he'd developed a love for hurting others. The only rules were to lock hands with nails inverted toward the palms and squeeze until one person jerked away or lost feeling in their hand. It was simple unless you found someone able to cheat; cheating was outlawed once respect was earned. Ducan wouldn't be getting any.  
  
"I get to pick my own opponent? Do I get to choose which hand, too?" Duncan looked up and down there row, settling several times on Russ then Angel. The two were the most harmless looking members that played; that was a mis-calculation.  
  
"No," Russ interjected, pushing away his tray and standing after grabbing his single binder, book, and pen. He started off, offering only a brief mutter "i can't watch this" before dumping his tray and exiting the cafeteria.  
  
Ducan thought a moment then smiled. "Who would you recommend, Landon?" he asked, making the name sound like a mocking taunt. It was ignored again. "The best player or weakest, whichever."  
  
Landon pretend to think a moment then shrugged. "Julius holds half of the record, but he's still playing with Angel to break it. Angel's a fair player, Tara doesn't play, and I'm probably one of the weaker players...I don't play very often," he lied.  
  
That made the decision.  
  
"Okay, I'll play you, Landon. You're not like one of those ones that moves things with their minds are you?" he asked, taking a seat across from Landon once the others had moved down a seat or two.   
  
"No, that's me," Angel said then proceeded to make the salt shaker hit him in the chest. She gave another sunny smile then turned back to Julius without a word.  
  
"Uh-huh." Several of the guys that had come over with Duncan made noises or mumbled not so pleasant thoughts on it. "Ready to play, Landon?"  
  
Landon didn't respond but locked their hands together, concentrating. He tightened his nails but felt nothing from Ducan's end. It wouldn't do much good since his hands could heal themselves. It was slow but still able to heal him.  
  
"Do you cheat, Landon?"  
  
"Not unless I have a reason..."  
  
_Random Line:  
  
"Oh, look, mutant gang violence." Her voice held much more sarcasm then should have been legal in one sentence. She shook her head and started forward, intending to keep something stupid from happening._


	3. Watering the Football Field

_Disclaimer: I don't own. I have a low amount of money since the windshield accident. I wouldn't recommend sueing. Tara and the currently unpresent Nanaki are property of Takamo while Julius and the currently unpresent Natasha belong to another friend, Fallen Angel Hell's Gate(until she changes it again). I own all others that are unrecognizable.

* * *

_

If he had parents or even anyone to answer to he would have been in trouble, but he had neither nor want for them. The thought wouldn't leave him alone while he made up his current bed on Russ' couch. He knew he should care or maybe just talk to someone about the institute he'd overheard several students talking about. His pride wouldn't let him so he contented himself with the couch and his usual bad night of sleeping.  
  
"You sure you're going to be okay? I mean, sleeping out here like this...?" Russ came into the living room with a couple of sodas and tossed him one. He sat down in the worn-out recliner opposite the couch and watched his friend.  
  
Landon shrugged then thumped the soda lid a few times until it was alright; he counted to ten then flicked the top open and took a drink. "I've been doing this for the last seven years. Don't worry about me," he said, though, he was still trying to figure out what to tell Kelly about his suggestion of parent/teacher conference. There was no parent. "What do I tell Kelly? He wanted to see **my parents** but they're **deceased**."  
  
Russ shrugged. "The truth?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. I can imagine his face if I were to tell him, 'I'm sorry, Principal Kelly, but my parents are deceased, killed by my sister when we ten. I'd be happy to hold a seance for you if you'd like to speak with them still'....get real, Russ."  
  
He still smiled when he thought of the hoots and hollers from the male and female students as Duncan had run through the halls, naked except for the bandage wrapped around one of his hands. Landon had leaned against a set of lockers with Julius, watching with interest. Not all were amused by their antics, though; some gothic girl with a white streak at the front, Rogue, he thought, from one of his classes, had given them a pitied look then walked off.  
  
"It was a suggestion. We going to do it in the morning...?" Russ asked, finishing the last of his soda and walking toward the kitchen. He pitched the can in before turning back. "I've got the guns in a trunk in the garage."  
  
"Call Kellie and the rest will learn before the night's up. What time, Russ?"  
  
"Try six a.m. That's right before school would start, right? It'll give us time to prepare... see you in the morning."  
  
"Go to bed."   
  
Landon waited until Russ was gone to dump the remaining contents of his soda down the drain and then struggled to make himself comfortable on the couch's rough cushions. He hated staying with Russ, but he hated to burden the same person repeatedly. The longest he'd ever stayed with one person was the three months he'd spent at Angel's but otherwise, he switched almost every night.   
  
Tomorrow was one of the nights he stayed with Jax. **Hallelujah.**

* * *

_Five-thirty a.m._ found Scott awake and thinking much too hard. He was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling with a scowl that could have cracked plaster with it's tension. His mind hadn't stopped racing through facts since they'd met with the Professor and Katherine in his office, concerning several students whose home lives needed to be brought to their attention.  
  
Landon's parents, sister, and any extended family were detailed as deceased or MIA (_missing in action_). Jax had a blank history with nothing, not even a birth certificate. The two were known for sleeping everywhere from other classmates' houses to the school gym on rare and unusual occassions.The Professor was talking about offering both young men a place to stay at the institute, with them; it hadn't gone over well with himself or Katherine. She'd explained that it might be a blow to their pride over such a question, especially considering Jax was nearly twenty.  
  
Jean's voice broke through his thoughts. GO TO BED, SCOTT!

I'm thinking. The Professor doesn't always drop things like this so suddenly...what's changed?  
  
Her voice was beginning to take on it's irritated tone. I don't know, Scott. It's not either of our places to question the Professor's choices or any decisions he makes...if you don't go back to sleep and stop projecting within the next twenty minutes, I'm going to pay you a visit with a pair of pliers. For your teeth.  
  
Scott sighed. Good-night, Jean.  
  
He'd no sooner had the thoughts then their alarm went off. He tossed the covers off and scrambled out of bed, pulling on his uniform in a hurry while the sound of others moving around drew his attention to the facts. Something was wrong, really wrong for them to be woken up on a school day, by the alarm.  
  
Scott met the others, including a sleep-deprived, no make-up, scowling Rogue. He spoke to her but earned a logan-sounding snarl and a death glare; he moved beyond her to stand with Jean and Kitty. Kitty also looked sleep-deprived but more awake while Jean was strangely silent and avoided looking at him.  
  
Logan entered with Storm a few steps behind him then stopped, looking over them. "Where's Spyke and Elf?" he demanded, noticing the two missing. Shuffling and shoving from the hall drew their attention to the two figures coming down the hall with quite a bit of noise. Logan's humorless voice cut them. "Knock it off!"  
  
Kurt and Evan entered the room with their eyes downcast and their expressions somewhat apologetic. The blue one took his position against the wall beside his foster sister while the spyked one remained hanging around the doorway.  
  
"Your little friends, the Brotherhood, have decided to play their WILD card early this morning on the school's football field. You all get the joy of finding and convincing them otherwise. I don't expect you to fail...Auroro and I have classes in a couple hours or we'd come with you. Don't screw this up." There was a threat to it.  
  
Storm's nod from behind him was all the threat they needed. If she was allowing Logan to talk for both of them and make demands, there was no hope of an appeal.  
  
"Well, hell, y'all," Rogue scowled, straightening from her place against the wall and giving them all a sunny smile that caused more worry. She dropped it within in moments and spoke with her accent exaggrated thanks to her lack of sleep. "Shall we get ta work or do ah gotta go beat the brotherhood all by mah lonesome?"   
  
Jean interrupted, "We're all going, Rogue. We should go before anyone starts to arrive at school, namely any faculty..."

* * *

_Five-thirty a.m._ started out differently for Angel Blade. She slammed the button on her alarm clock off three minutes early then dropped one leg down to kick her best friend, ignoring the pain of her leg hitting the wooden night stand.  
  
"Too early, Angel." Tara pulled the covers over her head and burrowed into the covers warmth and quietness, unlike the morning activities. "Not six yet."  
  
"Nope, not yet, but we still have to get dressed before we meet Landon. Tara." Angel hissed the name this time with another warning kick before climbing out of bed and going to her closet. She rearranged hangars for a moment then pulled out a couple of shirts and a pair of jeans, tossing them onto the bed along with her sneakers. "You shouldn't have stayed up playing with that thinga-majigy."  
  
"Don't call it that. Do we have orange juice...?" There was a longing and the hoarse rasp of sleep present in the voice, even though, it's owner was closer to awake then it gave away. Her head had come out from under the covers, but she hadn't moved to get up from her makeshift bed, frowning at the ceiling.  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Thank the gods." Tara got up, dragging her feet and struggling to remember where her clothes were.  
  
Angel mumbled something on her way out of the bedroom but closed the door and entered the bathroom across the hall. She pulled on her clothes then applied her dark eye-liner to her eyes and blue gloss across her lips, making them look frozen and dead. She outlined her eyes for a moment longer then stuck her tongue out to test the image; it worked for her even if it did make her look creepily shadowed.   
  
She returned to her bedroom to find Tara's bed empty, her bag and several articles of clothing missing while Tara's sat on the floor, just inside the closet. She shook her head.  
  
At least we've got orange juice, she thought on her way through the hall and into the kitchen. She made a point to tiptoe past Vel and Kristal's door. They'd freak if they knew she and Tara were getting up at five-thrity to go play on the football field with their friends and guns. It was violent and stupid; Vel's way of putting it. I'm starting to dislike him.  
  
"I have orange juice. Did you know that it tastest like orange..?" Tara tipped up another glass of orange juice and swallowed the contents, making a face before pouring some more from the pitcher on the table.  
  
"Yeah. It's called ORANGE juice, hon. What did you expect it to taste like? Spaghetti Os?" She rolled her eyes and got another glass down, filling it with the orange juice and a few taps of cinnamon from the shaker nearby. Tara scowled. "Sorry I said anything. I gotta call Damien...don't get addicted to that. Orange juice is a bad addiction."  
  
There was a chuckle. "As opposed to kool-aid...? Powdered or liquified?"  
  
"Shut up, Tara." Angel walked into the living room but stopped at the phone, dialing Damien's number then counting rings until his voice would pick up. She repeated over and over that had better be home if he wanted any students present in his class. She'd just hit ring eleven when his voice picked up, irritated and sleep-drugged.  
  
" 'Ello."  
  
"Hi, Damien," she chirped into the phone, delibertly forcing herself to sound chipper about the whole thing. She waited until he mumbled something non-understandable. "We need a ref for today. Please, Damien? I doubt if I woke you up either...you get up at four-thirty to meditate of something. Please, please, please, please."  
  
"If you promise to skip my class today, we've got a deal."   
  
"Deal. Thanks. Kiss, Kiss. Love ya lots."  
  
Damien groaned. "Hang up the phone already, crazy," he said then dropped the reciever in her ear. The dial tone met her words. She turned back to Tara and gave her two thumbs up then re-entered the kitchen, gulping down her orange juice and cinnamon.  
  
"We're in the clear. Football field, here we come!"

* * *

_SIX O'CLOCK IN THE A.M. (BAYVILLE HIGH FOOTBALL/ SOCCER FIELD)_  
  
"Okay. We have, if my watch is correct, about an hour and a quarter before any other students start arriving...faculty might show up early but we have our devoted French teacher." Landon cast a look toward Damien's slouched position against his motorcycle. He recieved a frown. "Moving on.."  
  
Kellie rolled her eyes. It was stupid for them to play out going over the rules and seperating into teams again. It wasn't like this was something new; it was older then the majority of them. They met on the football field at sometime, over an hour before school would start, and 'watered' the football field. It took that long for either cops, the faculty, or someone's parents to break up the game.  
  
It's not really even a game. It's more like a group of kids running around with water guns-and too much free time-running around on a soccer field with super soakers and a lot of water. We used to play in an empty lot but now we have a field, she thought with a smirk but took hers from Landon and checked the amount of water in it.  
  
"I want you guys to play fair this time, alright?" Damien looked around at them but stopped his gaze with a point look toward several of them. He shook his head and climbed into the bleachers, sitting down about midway up and making a begin hand motion to them. "Have fun."  
  
Voices drew their attention toward the group of teens, mainly recognizable from the school, that were facing off in two lines. Kellie easily recognized two girls, Rogue and some preppy girl, from one of hers and Landon's classes among a group of others, including the best looking guy she had ever seen.   
  
He was tall with brown hair and eyes. He'd dressed in an interesting enough outfit even if he did look kind of stupid with the way he stood, battle stance. He was still one of the best looking guys she had ever seen; she was instantly smitten.  
  
Angel's voice broke into her thoughts. "Oh, look, mutant gang violence." Her voice held much more sarcasm then should have been legal in one sentence. She shook her head and started forward, intending to keep something stupid from happening from the set of her jaw.   
  
"Not your place to get involved, Demon," Juilus announced, coming up behind her and shooting a stream of water into her back. He backed off a few steps afterwards, smirking. "It could just be a friendly game like ours."  
  
"Julius?"  
  
"Yes, sweetheart?"  
  
And now she's going to hurt him. Kellie smirked when the favor was returned by a stream of water, aimed directly at his mouth. It only took a few moments for him to be coughing and studdering around a mouthful of water; within seconds, the others had gotten into the game and were spraying water across the football field in all directions.  
  
Kellie squirted a steady, rather long stream of water at Corey's back then took off running, ducking behind Russ then running up the bleachers on one side. Damien's voice halted her,"Stay out of the stands!"  
  
She was about to yell something back when the ground on the football field split in half while several clods of dirt rose up from their placement. She looked around a moment then noticed that the previous two lines of their classmates had become a wild fray of fighting mutants.  
  
"Why don't we go offer them a hand...?" Julius called from his position on the field, giving Jax, who was sitting, placidly, beside their French teacher, a smirk. "What do you think, Serpent King?"  
  
"Be my guest."  
  
"Thanks. Let the good times roll!"  
  
"Permitió que los tiempos buenos arrollen!"   
  
"That would be Laisser les bons temps roulent."   
  
"No, I was speaking spanish, Damien!"  
  
Pietro Maximoff knew that something was wrong when his feet began to sink into the ground while he was trying to run across it. His fellow brotherhood members weren't doing well except Toad who seemed to be enjoying the change in climate and ground too much.  
  
"What happened to the field?" he demanded just before a stream of water hit him square in the face, sending him sprawling on his back into a rather large puddle of mud. His once fine, beautiful white hair turned into a matted mass of hard brown spikes; he yelled something.   
  
Lance responded, "We got some uninvited guests. I have no clue who they are but the X-geeks don't exactly look happy about their showing up. Maybe we can use that...?" His words were cut off by another earthquake-like shaking and splintering of ground and arguing from further down the field.  
  
"It's water, yo!" Toad hopped over, grinning like a fool despite the bad ground and the fact that they had way too many people, especially too many armed people, in one area. That couldn't turn out well. "I'm guessin, yo, that them kids got somethin' to do with it but that's just my guess."  
  
Pietro gave him a look. "Well aren't you intelligent, Toad?" He stood, brushing at dirt a moment then scowled and raced away, abandoing them to go work some more of his usually flawless appearance. They could deal with his father's wrath but he would be sitting that little lecture out.  
  
Toad stared blankly for a moment then returned to his fight just as a bare, pale hand touched his face. It took only a few moments for her to absorb enough to knock him out.  
  
"Ah hate absorbin' him. Ah always get an urge to eat flies," Rogue scowled then noticed the several cars that had just pulled up. Her mouth dropped open and she gave a low whistle. "We got company, y'all. Kelly's here early and our new students are playing with water guns."  
  
"I zought zey was super soakers, Rogue."  
  
"Shut up, Kurt."

* * *

_SEVEN-FIFTEEN A.M. (KELLY'S OFFICE)  
_  
Tara knew they were in trouble. The office was packed with a combination of water soaked teenagers, scowling 'gang members', and several whining girls while Kelly was sitting at his desk, silently.   
  
"Now that we've all talked," Kelly started, looking around the room but stopping on the ones dripping water onto his recently replaced carpet. "The X-Men and brotherhood are free to go; both groups will attend detention for the next week. Scott, Jean, you are not allowed on school property for the next week."  
  
"What?!"   
  
Tara tried not to laugh at the wide range of reactions. Some gothic girl simply rolled her eyes while the others in the X-Men catgory gave an interesting arrangement of reasons why they could, especially the two addressed as Scott and Jean. The brotherhood just nodded then exited the room.  
  
Kelly didn't say a word until both groups had gone. He leaned back in his desk and folded his hands, allowing them to just stand there and think about their behavior.  
  
She hated to admit it but he wouldn't get any apologies or even second thoughts. Most had been raised and weined on pulling stupid stunts or becoming involved in stupid stunts. She almost felt sorry for their new prinicipal, almost.  
  
"Do you know how many school rules you've broken in one morning...?"  
  
"Not yet, but I'm sure you're going to tell us," Jax said from where he stood, hovering around the doorway. His expression, if it could be seen, wasn't polite or even sorry. "We're just dying to know."  
  
"Here's a few." He slammed the school handbook down on the desk, holding up one finger. "Obstruction of school rules. No students on school ground before seven in the morning. Misuse of school property and possession of weapons on campus...to name a few!"  
  
A few of them- mainly, Angel, Russ, and Tara- had the decency to look ashamedly at the floor. The others just shrugged or looked around the room, avoiding his eyes.  
  
The door opened and a very angry Katherine O'Brien stormed in, giving her students a look that automatically had all of them looking down except Julius. Her gaze settled on him and held; he looked away and around the room, frowning. Her attention found the giant pile of super soakers propped up to one side of his desk.  
  
"I cannot believe you did this! You haven't even been here two days and I have to come give you lot a lecture. How many of you would like your parents called in? Should I call Vel and Kristal, Angel?" Juilus laughed, earning her immediate attention. "Julius Augustus Kanteon, how would your father feel about taking a plane all the way from Canada? Landon Keller, I can take care of you myself. Would the rest of you like me to recite your phone numbers?"  
  
"No, ma'am," came the mumbled replies from their bowed heads.   
  
Tara almost groaned when one voice decided to speak up. It was the one voice that should have kept quiet...Angel.  
  
"We're really sorry, Ms. O'Brien, but we wanted to _christen_ our new school." She glanced at Julius and Landon who nodded, trying not to look smug. She looked back at their principal. "We _christened the school James."  
_  
Katherine wasn't amused. "Cute, Angel. You just earned your friends and yourself the honor of repairing the damage to the football field...I hope you all enjoy it," she said, though her voice dripped with pretend sweetness and sarcasm.   
  
There were parrellel shouts from the gathered youths.  
  
"ANGEL!"  
  
"Aw, man!"  
  
Tara shook her head, cutting her eyes toward her friend. "Remind me to thank you later. In the way of the circus." She gave her a smile that said other things.  
  
"Um...I'm sorry?"  
  
_Random Line:_  
  
"Hey, Rogue! Rogue! Rogue, I know you're up there!" Rogue shoved her window up and looked down, half-expecting to see her cajun stalker. She didn't see him but instead the shadow of another guy with a cigarette, Landon from her class. He appeared in the process of throwing another rock but instead dropped it, offering her a brief wave. "I need your help with my homework!"


	4. Homework Help with Rogue

_Disclaimer: I don't own. I have a low amount of money since the windshield accident. I wouldn't recommend sueing. Tara and the currently unpresent Nanaki are property of Takamo while Julius and the currently unpresent Natasha belong to another friend, Fallen Angel Hell's Gate(until she changes it again). I own all others that are unrecognizable.  
_  
_Four-Thirty p.m. (REMAINS OF THE FOOTBALL/SOCCER FIELD)  
_  
"I can't believe we honestly have to do this," Landon scowled, using the mouth of his shovel to pack the crack between two large pieces of the field back together. He hit it several more times then tried jumping on it; it had no effect. "You'd think we committed a crime or something."  
  
"Less talking and more working would get it done faster." Tara tossed a handful of dirt in his direction and hit him in the back of the neck. She returned to her shovel, digging at a lump of rock that was buried beneathe the ground.  
  
He mumbled something but otherwise made no comment, returning to his work.   
  
"At least we're outside in the fresh air." Julius grinned from down the field on the repaired half where he was busy painting the stripes down the field as told. He pushed the machine along, whistling to himself. "We could be sitting in detention with the others."  
  
"Don't try to cheer me up."  
  
"I wouldn't dream of it, Tara," he replied before smugly taking off down the field with his 'toy'. He finished the next couple of stripes without commenting to them beyond, mumbling to himself.  
  
Jax appeared out of nowhere followed by the one person no one wanted to see-Nanaki Creed. Her expression was rather amused but it also said that she would happily kill them all later, if given the chance. No one wanted to give her the chance.  
  
"Hi, Nanaki." They greeted her as a group by stopping their progress.  
  
Nanaki just shook her head, giving them all a look that was far too reminiscent of her uncle. "What game did we play this time, my little deliquents?" she asked, fixing her gaze on the two who had come up with the idea, Russ and Landon. She shifted to look at Angel who was trying not to laugh. "Something funny, Angel?"  
  
"No, nothing," came the response as she looked down, guiltily.  
  
"That's what I thought. I thought you guys agreed to behave, or was I mistaken?" She recieved no answer. "Here's an easier question. Why were the majority of you absent from Damien's class...?"  
  
Landon almost cursed when Angel was honest. He decided quick, fast, and in a hurry that he'd have to explain things to her later.   
  
"I promised not to show up."  
  
"Anyone else..?"  
  
"The same."  
  
"Ditto."  
  
"I was sitting in Kelly's office for arguing with a teacher."  
  
"I fell asleep in the bleachers."  
  
"Angel, Tara, Landon, you three are off the hook since that's Damien's fault. He made a deal with you about now showing up, didn't he?" Nanaki asked but turned away after noting their nods and guilty expression. Only Nanaki could b ring guilt down on them. "Julius, you're not supposed to argue with the teacher unless they're wrong and Kellie, stop sleeping in the bleachers."  
  
"What about me, Nanaki?" Natasha asked from where she was lounging against the ground. She had sat down and stretched out her legs, attempting to avoid the teacher's expression.  
  
"Don't get me started on you. When you're finished with this...go straight home all of you. Jax will tell me if you don't, agreed?"  
  
"Yes, Nanaki," they choursed with little effort, knowing Jax would indeed tell her if they went home or not. They also knew that if the need rose he'd walk each one of them home, considering Landon was staying with him and Julius tonight.  
  
Nanaki nodded and hung around a few more moments to watch their progress then left, saying something under her breathe that only Angel heard and that probably wasn't through speaking. She'd probably listened to their teacher's thoughts and knew what was going to be said before it was.  
  
"Can we just get this on with...? I have to find someone to help me with my homework...."  
  
_Seven-Thity p.m. (PARKING LOT OF FOOTBALL/SOCCER FIELD)_  
  
"Will you apartment be unlocked in a couple hours? I need to go study with a friend."   
  
Jax saw through the words, knowing it would just be a walk around town. It seemed to be the only freedom his friend got since he'd started staying with them. He didn't let on that he knew the lies behind it but instead handed over one of the duplicated keys to him.  
  
"I might not be there, but Julius should. Just unlock the door and take up your normal residence...if Julius gives you a problem, hit him. I'll vouche for you," he said before pulling his hood up to cover the scales running in patterns across his head and his slitted yellow eyes. He looked out with only his eyes showing. "Don't do something stupid, Landon."  
  
Landon laughed, bitterly. "I did my last stupid thing, of that variety, when I was a kid. I don't plan to hurt anyone unless they provoke me first, Jax...then it's self-defense."  
  
"Does that mean you plan to wait for something...?"  
  
"You know me better than that. Make sure everyone else gets home and tell Angel I'll stay with her night after next," he said then vanished, digging through one pocket and lighting a cigarette. The lighter's glow stayed with his shadow then he vanished without another word.  
  
Jax shook his head and walked back to the others.   
  
"Landon stays with you night after next, Angel."  
  
"That's fine..."  
  
Tara hesitated when the others started to walk off. "Will he be alright...?"  
  
"Leave him alone, Tara. He needs to sort things out on his own."  
  
_EIGHT p.m. (XAVIER'S INSTITUTE, ROGUE AND KITTY'S BEDROOM)_  
  
Rogue closed her eyes, trying to tune out the sound of Jean's singing from down the hall. The headphones she'd been wearing were hanging around her neck since the battery had killed over some point between the first chorus of 'Angel' and the secoind to last chorus of 'Toxic'. Her head was pounding and no amount of pillows over it could stop the noise pollution.  
  
She got up and walked into the hall, kicking one of Kitty's shoes in the process but stumbled out anyway, banging her fist against the bathroom door. "Hey, Princess! Who's cat are ya killin' in there? Some of us have better things to do than to hear ya audition for American Idiot," she called through the door before stalking back into her room, or more limping thanks to Kitty's shoe. She flopped down on her bed to stare at the ceiling. "Ah hate people raght now."  
  
"Hey, Rogue! Rogue! Rogue, I know you're up there!" Something small and round hit the window then bounced off. The gesture repeated several times before she lost her patience and and went to the window, fighting with the latch until it clicked out of place.   
  
Rogue shoved her window up and looked down, half-expecting to see her cajun stalker. She didn't see him but instead the shadow of another guy with a cigarette, Landon from her class. He appeared in the process of throwing another rock but instead dropped it, offering her a brief wave.  
  
"I need your help with my homework!"  
  
"Ya th'owin rocks at mah window after hours to get mah help with ya homework? If ya can get inside...ah'll help you. Otherwise, figure it out for yourself." She slammed the window shut, knowing he wouldn't find a way in.  
  
Serves him raght for botherin' me. Ah have better things to do then help strange guys with the homework that ah ain't even done mahself.   
  
Rogue laid back down on her bed, thumbing through one of the novels she had picked up off the floor. It wasn't that interesting and she quickly lost interest, taking up one of the many magazines that had been left in Kitty's wake. Even when the younger girl was gone she left the room surrounded by her very prescence.  
  
Ah bet this thing doesn't even got one interestin' article, she thought, flipping the pages but stopping to scribble out different advertisments with a black pen. She colored over all the things that reminded her too much of Risty and even the things that reminded her of herself. Ah hate magazines.  
  
Jean's singing had quit, but she still wasn't sure if the first year college student was out of the bathroom yet. She was known to spend several hours in ther, working on her face and brushing her hair, though Rogue had never bothered to find out if they were true.  
  
Her door creaked open and she sighed," Leave me alone, Kurt. Ah don't need to talk about what's wrong with me 'cause there ain't nuthin'."  
  
"It ain't Kurt, whoever that is." Landon closed the door and came over, looking down at her with obvious amusement. His gaze circled the room, examining every corner with little interest and heavy amusement toward her. "I found a way in."  
  
She sat up, frowning. "And so ya did. What subject, Landon?" she asked before leaning down to get her school stuff off the floor. She stared at the jumbled mass of binders, books, and writing utensils.  
  
"English. I hate the entire subject and language...that book we're reading. Explain it to me."  
  
Rogue just raised an eyebrow, waiting for something, obviously.  
  
He noticed and mumbled,"Please."  
  
"With pleasure," she said then spent the next hour and a half trying to explain the symbolism and themes addressed in A Seperate Peace. She talked through the character relationships, explaining everything from Gene's jealousy to the way Finny protected Leper against the others jokes. She explained details on the setting in an all white, prepatory school where going against the crowd wasn't ones safest bet. "Do ya understand, Landon, or are ya preoccupied with oogling Kitty's bed...?"  
  
Landon scowled, looking away from the bed. "I was just thinking. Do you actually like this kind of stuff, Rogue? I thought you hated the class since I noticed you left for no reason...I had a reason."  
  
"Why ah left ain't ya concern. Anythang else ya need or are ya ready to leave and let me get some sleep...?"  
  
His expression changed into a smirk. "I think I'd much enjoy sleeping with you, Rogue."  
  
She had just opened her mouth to say something and her hand to hit him when there was a knock on her door. Both froze when the voice spoke from just outside the door.  
  
"Hey, Stripes. I told you to stop talking to yourself." There was silence for a moment then the sound of Logan's blades coming out and he knocked again. This time it wasn't gentle or even friendly. "Who's in there with you, Stripes?"  
  
"Uh...Kitty?" she offered then remembered, too late, that her room mate had gone home for a family member's funeral. She swore under her breathe, motioning Landon toward the window.  
  
"Half pint's out. Who's in there? I'll break this door down, Stripes."  
  
"Go ahead. Then ya can pay the Profess'r for the damages," Rogue hollered back, walking with Landon to her window and shoving it up. She motioned out the window. "Leave before Logan gets in."  
  
"Logan. Logan. Logan. He's the guy that walks around snarling isn't he?" Landon climbed through the window and balanced there for a moment.  
  
"He's not a dog. Good-night, Landon." She smiled for a moment then shoved him off the roof, smiling when he lost his balance and fell. His curse could be heard even up at her window.  
  
Logan kept his promise just then and slammed one of his hands through the door, splintering the wood. He turned the lock then withdrew his arm, entering moments later. His expression was bordering on explosive especially when he noticed that the window was open and that she was still standing beside it.  
  
"Do ya need somethin', Logan?" Rogue asked, polietly, trying to keep the smug smirk off her face and failing. She returned to her bed and picked up her books and binders, dropping them on the dresser in a large pile.  
  
"Who was here, Stripes...?"  
  
"Mah split personality. He said to tell ya hi!" She finished the sentence with a high pitched greeting and a sunny smile then dropped it, scowling.   
  
"We're not playing irritate Logan tonight. Who. Was. It. Stripes?" Logan demanded, coming over and standing so he could glare at her. It had no effect except earning his an equal glare from the girl; he gave in, stalking out of her room.  
  
Rogue smirked at her reflection in the the mirror. It was more often used by Kitty to check that her appearance was perfect, for Lance's benefit.  
  
"Landon must be desperate to ask for mah help. Ah wonder if any of what ah told him is honestly true..."  
  
_TEN-THIRTY p.m. (XAVIER'S OFFICE)  
_  
"I'm sorry about my students, Charles; even more so that one of our teachers would support and supervise the event. I'll have a talk with Damien and Nanaki, too. Margolian hasn't caused a...uh, a problem, has he?" Katherine tried not to voice exactly what problem she meant but was sure he already knew. She nervously tapped her fingers against one knee, watching the white nails flash under the light.   
  
"Margolian hasn't caused a problem. Neither has Nanaki. It is my reasoning, that the students from Ripley are simply pushing the limits in order to see what they can get away with. Once they realize that their antics, shall we say, aren't being tolerated, they'll straighten up. We've had far worse at Bayville, Katherine," he said, speaking quietly in an attempt to calm her. He must have fallen short at some point because she nodded, but her expression lost none of it's tension. "Would it make you feel better if each student were given, kind of a mentor?"  
  
She hesitated then shook her head. "It wouldn't work. These kids have been alone or close to alone for as long as they can remember...it would cause more problems."  
  
"What would your suggestion on how to help your students be?" He waited a moment then stopped speaking, opening the door to his office with one hand. He sighed when several of his newer students fell through the door, landing in a heap. "Bobby, Rahne, Amara, was there something one of you needed? Something that required you to listen outside my door..?"  
  
"Logan's on the rampage, Professor. He and Rogue have been...uh, at it. Yeah, at it. It started 'cause he thought there was someone in her room but it turned out there wasn't," Amara announced all in one breathe then looked down at her friend's strange looks.  
  
"Is that the truth, Bobby, Rahne?"  
  
Bobby nodded.   
  
Rahne hesitated then shook her head. "We were sneaking around and wanted to know what happened in your office after lights out. It didn't really sound like that interesting a conversation..."  
  
"Rahne!"  
  
Katherine smiled, trying not to laugh at their antics. She'd grown used to having someone easedrop on every conversation and didn't say anything important unless it was determined that the school or wherever was empty.  
  
"What are you opinons of the new teachers...?"  
  
Amara's expression brightened. "The French teacher is rather cute."  
  
"The guy with the sunglasses is a bit depressing and that chick...? I haven't really heard her say much to anyone at Bayville except for yelling or lecturing some kids," Bobby said then shrugged. Rahne made no comment.  
  
There was an audible sigh. "I expect all of you to report to your rooms and stay there. Logan and I will have a talk in the morning...good-night."  
  
"Good-night, Professor," the three mumbled like scolded children then retreated, leaving the sound of their feet echoing behind them.   
  
Charles shook his head, frowning. "I'm sorry about that interruption. I've noticed that the thoughts and images I recieve from Landon are rather depressing...would you talk to him about coming to stay at the institute or just give it a trial run?"  
  
"You make it sound like AOL messenger or something, Charles. This is one of these kids' lives that we're talking about; Landon has been alone since before he entered our school district. He was thirteen when he arrived, but God only knows what he did before that," she said, staring down at her nails once again. They'd begun to tap against her leg.  
  
"Katherine, I don't want to hurt him but it's unsafe for him to be wandering around on his own, living wherever's convenient for the night."  
  
She sighed. "I know, but he's not going to accept charity..."  
  
Charles was silent a moment then nodded. "I may have someone that can help him. I'd like to have one of my students, another reluctant mutant, speak with him about everything," he said, thinking over the possibilities. He knew one student would be able to talk on a level that Landon would respond to. "Leave everything to me, Katherine..."  
  
_Random Line from The Next Chapter:  
  
Jean cleared her throat then looked around the circle of students, trying to think of where to go next. "Why don't we all tell each other our names?" she asked with the quiet voice of someone talking to a room full of alcoholics or little kids. Her gaze went to Scott and he nodded to show things were okay.  
  
"Rogue."  
  
"Remy LeBeau."  
  
"Angel."  
  
"Julius."  
  
"Kitty."  
  
"Lance."  
  
"Rahne."  
  
"Ray."_


	5. Time to Work on Relationships

_Disclaimer: I don't own. I have a low amount of money since the windshield accident. I wouldn't recommend sueing. Tara and the currently unpresent Nanaki are property of Takamo while Julius and the currently unpresent Natasha belong to another friend, Fallen Angel Hell's Gate(until she changes it again). I own all others that are unrecognizable._  
  
**xxDragonxxxChildxx**: There will be some Rogue/Remy in it but not romantically. I don't think of them as love relationship evolved in evolution; it's more friends with a common past of being hurt. Remy will talk her through several things and continue to stalk her on occassion but that's about the extent of their relationship-friendship.   
  
**Anything but Ordinary3**: Tara would never go out with Piotr. He has three characteristics that would freak her out- he's big, he's Russian, and he goes all metally. You got any other options for me? You know how I love your reviews or is it hate? I guess you know the answer. You really like Julius and Angel together? I always knew you were crazy.

* * *

_The Counselor's Office feat. Jean Grey_  
  
"One of your teachers brought it to my attention that you often come to class..." Jean stopped speaking to check the paper she now held. She looked up again. "...heavily bruised or injured. Are you in an abusive relationship, Angel?"  
  
She just blinked and playing with the stapler. "What's an abusive relationship, Fred?" she asked, taking up the first word she could think of that rhymed with the redhead's hair color.  
  
"Does your significant other, the person you currently go out with, ever hit you? Hard or with the intent to hurt?"  
  
Angel nodded. "Yep."  
  
"And you've never reported this, Angel? Did he threaten you?" Jean asked, placing one hand over the younger girl's that rested on the table. She patted it reassuringly despite Angel's blank expression.  
  
"Why would I report it?" she asked, moving Jean's hand away from her own. She wiped her hand on the leg of her jeans and bent one leg up, propping it on the other; she placed the hem of her jeans between the stapler ends and pressed down. "Nanaki knows, though she _doesn't approve_. Damien knows and tells us _not_ to leave too bad of a mark on each other."  
  
"Us...?"  
  
"I hit him back or sometimes, I hit first." She shrugged, stapling the hem a few more times then dropping it. She peeled off a long strip of scotch tape and began taping the laces of her shoes onto the brown part, pushing on them to keep them in place. "Stay."  
  
Jean looked stricken. "I...uh, I think I'd like to speak with your parents, Angel."  
  
Angel laughed, dropping the stapler then shook her head. "That won't work. I don't know where they are, Jean."  
  
"You don't know where your parents are...?"  
  
"No. I've lived with my aunt and uncle since I was a kid. My parents are memories," she explained but there was an empty void of emotion present within her words. "Can I go now?"  
  
"I'd like you and Julius to come to a meeting this afternoon. There's quite a few of your classmates that will be along for the duration of these meetings." She held out a bright yellow flyer with black writing then smiled.  
  
Angel crumpled the paper into a ball and walked out of the office, slinging her bag over one shoulder and exiting the office with a slam of the door. Several things fell off the small desk and rolled onto the floor.  
  
_How am I supposed to deal with this? They're both abusive and seem to not see the problem with it. At least two of their teachers are aware of the behavior but view it as harmless. I think it's time to free up some space in our program this afternoon. Scott!_  
  
She waited until he answered to continue. _We're getting two new people in our relationship counseling program._   
  
_That's fine, Jean. Would you stop talking to me during my test? The professor's already glaring at me like he wants to melt me like Amara does to rocks.  
  
Sorry!  
  
Don't pull that annoyed, Miss Perfect tone with me, Jean Grey.  
  
.......

* * *

__Relationship Counseling Meeting #1 3:30 p.m._  
  
"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm sure you're all well aware of why you're here, but if anyone's not then I'll give you an explanation before we start. Our plan is to help each of you sort out the problems in your relationships..."  
  
Scott stared out the window through his girlfriend's speech. He'd heard it the first tweleve times she'd practiced in front of the mirror and him; it had lost interest after the first seven times. He couldn't figure out why she was suddenly concerned with the welfare of other couples but for her sake, he would fake through the entire session.  
  
Jean cleared her throat then looked around the circle of students, obviously, trying to think of where to go next. "Why don't we all tell each other our names?" she asked with the quiet voice of someone talking to a room full of alcoholics or little kids. Her gaze went to Scott and he nodded, attempting to assure her that everything was okay.  
  
"Rogue."  
  
"Remy Lebeau."  
  
"Angel Blade."  
  
"Julius Augustus Kanteon."  
  
"Kitty Pryde."  
  
"Lance Alvers."  
  
"Natasha Creed."  
  
"Rahne."  
  
"Ray."  
  
"Rahne, Ray, you two are not a couple nor are either of you in need of relationship counseling. Please exit through the door there." She motioned with one arm toward the door before settling her gaze upon Natasha. The two exited the door, mumbling something about 'unfair treatment to under classmen'. "Is something **wrong** with Jax...?"  
  
She shrugged. "He didn't want to come; I didn't make him."  
  
There was something like laughter from Julius before Angel's elbow connected with his ribs, silencing him. Scott glanced over at the two but earned only innocent smiles from them both without noticing that one of her arms was now twisted behind her back and pinned.  
  
He also noticed Remy's arm had gone around Rogue and was resting on the back of her chair. She allowed it a moment then reached behind her, without looking, and twisted his hand back, shoving it off of her chair. There was a quiet snarl of,"Don't touch me, swamp rat."  
  
Jean looked alarmed and quickly intervened. "Why don't we start with how each of you couples met? Rogue, why don't you tell us how you and Remy met?" she asked, trying to draw the other girl out of her shell and earning a skeptical look.  
  
"The X-Men had a mission with tha brotherhood to take down a new group of mutants, including tha swamp rat over there. He decided to play a nice game of _hypnotizin' a member of the enemy and handin' them a charged card._ He then gave a smirk and left me holdin' a charged card that almost blew off my hand." She frowned, glaring over at him. "Ah haven't gotten rid of 'im since. Does somebody else wan' him?"  
  
"You poor, poor girl," Angel said with a shake of her head. Her expression was genuinely pitying toward Rogue.   
  
"Remy be a **prize**!"  
  
"Don't kid yahself, swamp rat."  
  
"Lance, how did you and Kitty meet?" Jean asked as an interruption to the bickering among them. It worked like a charm when both shut up.  
  
Scott noticed that Lance just shrugged then mumbled something about,"I hit on the good girl until she decided to give me a try. We've only broken up once since."  
  
"Do you have anything better for us, Kitty?"  
  
"No, Jean. Lance and I, like, don't even, like, need this course. Our relationship's, like, great....except when he tries to, like, hurt me or my teammates."  
  
"What?! I'm part of the brotherhood and you're an X-man! It's my job to hurt you bunch of do-gooders!"  
  
"Whatever, Lance. Our relationship should, like, be more important than that..."  
  
"That's enough!" Scott silenced the two with a single look then glanced over at Julius and Angel. He noticed one of her arms was behind her back along with one of Julius' that was holding onto hers; there was hardly any pain registering on her face. "Julius, let go of her arm," he said then waited for his orders to be followed before continuing. "Now, how did the two of you meet?"  
  
"In sixth grade. I tranferred to a school in the states that year and she was in my homeroom class; I commented that she looked like a girl because of the dress she wore and she broke my nose. She was cold hearted and mean then, too," Julius said, rubbing his nose as though the memory hurt.  
  
"I am _not_ cold hearted!"  
  
"You're _not_? You didn't cry at the ending to Old Yeller."  
  
"What's that prove? Ah _didn't_ cry either," Rogue jumped in after shoving Remy's arm off of her again. She glared at him.  
  
"Neither did you, Julius Augustus Kanteon!"  
  
"No one here is cold hearted. We'll move onto our last couple and see how they're doing. Natasha. Natasha? Natasha!"   
  
Natasha's head shot up from staring out one widow at a squirrel bouncing around in a tree. She blinked for a moment then smiled, leaning back in her chair. "Did you need something...?"  
  
"How did you and Jax meet?"  
  
She laughed. "His two closest friends were dating my best friends. I got stuck with him and he grew on me. End of story."  
  
Jean clapped her hands, smiling brightly. "Those are lovely stories of how you each met. It's sweet to know you all remember them. What problems do you have in your relationships? I'd like us to get everything out in the open then Scott and I can help you work through your problems."  
  
Scott just stared. _If she was any more cliched...  
  
Scott!  
  
Sorry.  
_  
Remy stood, glancing once at his so-called love. "The femme has a problem wit' Remy's obvious interest in her. Remy's chere doesn' t'ink he's sincere about caring about her..."  
  
"It's not that. Ah _don't lahke ya_ like that and ya're stalkin' me!"  
  
"Selective walking."  
  
"Stalkin'."  
  
"Selective walking!"  
  
"Stalkin'!"  
  
"Selective wal-"  
  
"That's enough!" Scott glowered at them both, earning a faster reaction from Rogue, who sat down and crossed one leg over the other, glaring in pure hatred at him. Remy reacted slower but sat down, charging and uncharging a card that he'd pulled from somewhere. Scott didn't think he wanted to know where it had come from or look to find out.  
  
Jean cleared her throat then took one of his hands, patting it slightly. "It's okay, honey. Scott and I met when we both became students at Xavier's Institute and also Bayville. We were just friends then we fell in love," she amended, gazing adoringly up at him.  
  
Natasha made gagging noises then coughed. "Hairball."  
  
This earned snorts of laughter from the others who weren't looking at their relationship counselors in total shock or as if they would be sick at any moment. Even Remy looked nauseated by the much too affectionate gesture; he turned away to feign interest in a computer screen.  
  
"How pleasant for you two." Lance stood, shoving his chair back. "I'm out of here. This thing's starting to rot my brain. I'll see you later, Kitty."  
  
"Okay." Kitty stood and gave him a hug, kissing him on the cheek before he walked out. She returned to her chair, blushing as if she'd just remembered the others were in the room with them. "...Sorry..."  
  
"Public displays of affection are good, Kitty, unless they're gone about...inappropriately." Jean's attention settled on Natasha who simply looked back, unblinking but smirking. "It's good for you to allow your significant other to know you care. Why don't each of you try offering your significant other a compliment?"  
  
"At least you showed up to something."  
  
"For once, you're not complaining about my behavior."  
  
"Very good, Angel, Julius." Jean's smiled at the two.  
  
"Ya wouldn't smell half bad if ya'd got rid of that bucket of cologne ya bathe in."  
  
"Wit'out da gothic make-up you'd no longer look like tha undead."  
  
"Not exactly good compliments, but it's a start, Rogue, Remy." Scott nodded at their choice of words.  
  
"Jax isn't here."  
  
"Lance isn't here, either."  
  
Thanks for small miracles. Something's finally going right for me, but how long could it possibly last? he wondered, tapping the fingers of his free hand against the table top. It was a blatant gesture of bordem and very little patience.   
  
Jean barely glanced at him except to shake her head in disapproval then pick up her nearby clipboard. It was made of dark wood and covered in white outlined pink or red hearts and these funny looking squiggly line things. There were sheets of paper of every color, including hot pink stored in the notebook along with a bright orange pen that was covered in large flowers.  
  
"I'd like each of you to try out a date with someone else and let us all know how things turn out. We're going to set a few ground rules first, okay?" She waited until there were mumbles of agreement or nods before continuing with her rules. "The rules are as follows:  
  
1. No ditching your assigned date or hooking up with anyone present in the group.  
2. Alcohol is forbidden unless you're of legal age; which none of you are, not even Scott and myself.  
3. There is NO SEX."  
  
"Where's the fun in that?!" Julius asked before a handful of brightly colored paper balls hit him in the chest. He looked over to find the other female members of the group, including Angel and Jean glaring at him.  
  
Jean frowned. "No sex. Now for your pairings..."  
  
Sex? These kids aren't even out of high school and their minds are easy to figure out. I think spending some time apart will be good for all those concerned.   
  
"Angel will spend the night with Jax, taking a picnic and a walk in the park. His refusal to show up has earned him this." Dead silence met this announcement except for Julius' fish gaping mouth. "Julius and Kitty will go to the movie theater; a mistake was in pairings made but I suspect you two will enjoy yourselves." The two looked at each other then Kitty shuddered, moving closer to Rogue. "Lance will go on a date with Tabitha to a different movie theater. Rogue, you will have a candle lit dinner with Landon Keller on the roof." Rogue's mouth gaped like a dead fish while Remy just frowned. "Remy's date for the evening will be Wanda and they will go to a resteraunt of her choice."   
  
"Ah, de ot'er creepy chick...." There was the sound of a smack. "Don' hit me, chere."  
  
"Don't make fun of her. Ah happen to lahke Wanda."  
  
"Anot'er walkin' corpse."  
  
Jean continued over their arguement. "Natasha, you will have a date with Todd Tolensky to the resteraunt of your choice," she said, ignoring the other girl's shriek of outrage and the beginning to sprout claws. "In order to keep ourselves on level with you, Scott and I will also be going on dates. I will be going on a date with the woodshop teacher, Damien and Scott will be having a date with Jubilee....we ran out of date options," she added when the others looked at her, strangely.  
  
Dead silence reigned for a moment before they all began to talk at once, announcing their annoyance or disagreement over their date options.   
  
Scott whistled to get their attention.  
  
Jean spoke once they were all listening. "Our meeting for the day is dismissed. You are all free to go. I'd prefer if you would all go home and start planning for your dates. They will be tonight."  
  
"What?!"

* * *

_BAYVILLE HIGH GYM 5:00 p.m._  
  
Nanaki Creed was not in the mood to be bothered. She had come into the gym to work on her fighting and think about how to approach Damien about his bribery to students. It hadn't gone the way she'd planned especially when she recieved unexpected company.  
  
"Do you always attack everything so viciously, Creed?" Logan asked, coming in and leaning against one wall to watch her.   
  
"Not everything, just the things that bother me. Do you need something?" she demanded, stopping with her fist just short of hitting the bag in front of her. She turned to face him and removed her fingerless glove from one hand, wiping the palm on her jeans.  
  
He shrugged. "Does rudeness run in your family?"  
  
"Yes, Logan. Every Creed ever born is rude and vicious. You've figured out my life story." Nanaki brought her hands together in front of her and clapped. She pulled her other glove off and wiped her hand, glaring at him. "Now leave me alone."  
  
"You dream too much, Creed. I'm supposed to keep an eye on these new students but I'm also keep an eye on you. What relationship are you to Sabretooth or Victor Creed? And don't deny that you have a relationship to him."  
  
_Who said I'd deny it?  
  
Humor him, Nanaki. I'm sure that you two will talk everything out and he'll come to understand things._ Professor Xavier's voice filled her head, but she didn't respond.  
  
"Fine. He's my uncle; his brother was my father but my parents weren't there when I was a kid. The other Creed kid, Natasha, is my cousin. He's her father. I disowned him about nine years back; the facts to it aren't important, so don't ask," she finished, beginning to put her gloves back on and redoing the snap.  
  
Logan smirked and walked over to stand in front of her. "Disowned him? I don't think it's that easy, Creed."  
  
"You'd be suprised..."  
  
"How did you disown him nine years back? You would have been what...eight, maybe nine?" He caught her wrist before she could hit the punching bag again and held it, roughly and without any sign of letting go.  
  
Nanaki pulled away with no result except his grip tightening. "How old do you think I am?" she asked, smirking at her silent victory. He was about to get quite a shock.  
  
"Seventeen, maybe eighteen. I doubt you're any older..."  
  
"I'm twenty-seven, Logan. Let go of my wrist," she commanded with a sharp yank and a glare up at his face. She was already beginning to dislike the furry gym teacher with his aggressive personality and pentition for snapping at her students. "I don't like people touching me."  
  
"You don't look older then seventeen. Why?" Logan's grip gentled a little but he didn't release her.  
  
A slow smile spread across her face and her eyes turned red. "I'll show you," she said before releasing her metal blades and jamming them into his arm that held her wrist. She gave a hard jerk, tearing the skin seconds before he broke the contact by slamming her against the wall and pinning her there. "You asked, dear boy."  
  
"If I wasn't already aware that you _had_ a problem, I'd kill, or at least, hurt you very badly, Creed. Stop fighting me before I do hurt you."  
  
"Or _**we**_ hurt you, right?" Her smile dropped as she waited for him to do anything; her blades had gone into her hands, but she made no move to force him away from her.   
  
"Creed, stop playing games!"  
  
"It's not a game and Nanaki can't come out right now." 'Nanaki's' breathe didn't change neither did she shrink away when three of his blades against her neck. She smiled a moment longer then it dropped at the same moment when her eyes went back to green; she actually looked a little freaked, a little, at their contact. "Logan..."  
  
"Mr. Logan, is something wrong?" Kitty's voice broke their shared confrontation and he pulled back, pushing his blades in and turning away.  
  
"It's nothing, half-pint. Creed and I were just talking."  
  
"I needed to talk to you," she said, frowning at her favorite teacher and often times protector. She looked down at her shoes as a blush spread across her face. "It's not that important if you're busy..."  
  
"Creed and I are through. What do you need to talk about?" Logan asked without an apology of any sort for his previous actions before walking over to the teenager. His arm had already healed itself by the time he reached her.  
  
"Why me?" Nanaki groaned, slumping back against the wall. She wasn't used to anyone bothering her especially since no one at Ripley trusted her except their headmaster, Damien, and the kids she'd known for years, especially Angel and Tara. The two could be a burden but were usually all that kept her sane and Celesta at bay. "Didn't I suffer enough in the orphanage and with Uncle Vic? I've suffered enough! Why can't I just be left alone with myself?"  
  
_You're not alone, Nanaki. You have me.  
  
I don't want to talk, not to you.  
  
And this is hurting me in what way?  
_  
"I just want them to leave me alone. Celesta, Uncle Vic, the brotherhood, Logan, and anyone else who wants to heal me. Why can't I just be left alone?" Nanaki slammed her fist into the white brick wall behind her, barely registering the pain beyond a muttered sentence fragment that was incoherent. "I hate him." 


	6. Romantic Dinners or not?

_Disclaimer: I don't own. I have a low amount of money, mainly $4.10. I wouldn't recommend sueing. Tara and the currently unpresent Nanaki are property of Takamo while Julius and the currently unpresent Natasha belong to another friend, Fallen Angel Hell's Gate(until she changes it again). I own all others that are unrecognizable. I do not own the French language nor do I claim it is all right; it probably isn't.  
_

* * *

_Kitty and Rogue's Bedroom  
_  
"It ain't a date, Kitty." Rogue stared at the ceiling and tried to drown out her mile a minute talking roommate with the music pounding in her ears. It hadn't worked in the last hour and it wasn't working now. "It's just part of that stupid program Scott and Jean are runnin' for couples with problems. Ah ain't even a couple with Remy!"  
  
"It, like, so totally is a **date**, Rogue! You have to look, like, good for your **date** with Landon. Do you want to, like, borrow something of mine?" Kitty asked, bouncing up and down on her own bed. She had washed and blow dried her hair before brushing it out and putting in in some type of twist on top her head.  
  
"Of course. Ah'll just borrow ya bright pink dress with the giant flowers..." She sat up, shoving the headphones from her ears with one motion. Drumbeats and the buzz of voices came from the muffled earphones but Rogue was the real attention getter. She clasped her hands in front of her then glared. "Ah think ya need to lay off the girl talks with Jean. Those things'll rot ya brain."  
  
_It is not a date. I do not want to date or even talk to Landon Keller. The happy couple ain't excatly able to give relationship counseling especially since they can't even make their own relationship function properly. This sucks.  
_  
_How will you ever learn if Remy's your soul mate if you don't date other people?  
  
I'm ignoring the soul mate comment, Jean._  
  
"Like, what time's he supposed to be here? Your hair's a mess and, like, you look like some dreadful, evil clown," Kitty fussed, coming over and attempting to brush the other girl's hair.   
  
Rogue batted her hands away and grabbed a book, slamming out of the room with her headphones still around her neck. She mumbled curses, made-up and real, against her roommate and female relationship counselor, down the hall and halfway down the stairs where Logan met her.  
  
"There's some guy downstairs, claiming you two have a date, Stripes. It isn't even the cajun; what have you been doing lately?"  
  
She glowered. "Not funny. Ya just left him alone, in the front hall, with no chaperone?"  
  
"No, Elf's keeping an eye on him."  
  
"Ah hope ya don't have plans to sleep tonight, Wolvie."  
  
"And why's that, Stripes?" he asked, appearing amused in the face of her rage. A dangerous thing for anyone else; it was rare that it was too dangerous to him.  
  
"Ya're gonna hear every, single detail of mah evenin'," she informed him with a sugary sweet smile before walking down the stairs. She smirked when there was the sound of something hitting a wall. It was more then likely his fist. "That's not healthy."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Vhat are you and mein schwester planning to do tonight?" Kurt's voice carried from the front hall along with the sounds of some video game being played. Probably Bobby or Ray.  
  
"What Landon and ah do isn't your problem, Kurt," Rogue announced upon her entrance, stepping around several of the new recruits that were sprawled on the floor with some video game playing out on the screen. She came up behind Kurt but glared at Landon. "He wasn't even supposed to be here for another hour."  
  
"Sorry to be early, Elvira, but I had nothing better to do." It wasn't exactly an apology.   
  
Rogue didn't expect one.  
  
"Riight. Let's just get this over with before mah roommate makes an appearance," she mumbled with several glances toward the staircase. She barely spared a glance at Kurt, concentrating instead on pushing her date toward the door. It wasn't an easy task since he had to weigh more then she did with heigth and build.   
  
Landon didn't say anything until they'd gotten outside and propped the appropriate ladder against the side of the institute. It wobbled a moment then held still.  
  
"What exactly does mein schwester mean?" he asked, stepping back and motioning for her to climb first.  
  
She sighed. She'd expected the question from the moment Logan had mentioned that Kurt was entertaining her fake date. "My sister. Ah ain't goin' first so that ya can look up my skirt, Landon. Climb."  
  
"Commanding, aren't we, Elvira? I like that quality in a woman." He climbed onto the bottom rung of the ladder then climbed up.   
  
"Shut up."  
  
_I'm not sure we'll both live through this date. Oh, joy. Now it's my turn._   
  
Rogue placed both feet on the bottom rung and climbed up, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and only opening them when hands caught her by the upper part of her arms. She found herself lifted onto the roof and set on her feet much easier then she'd figured.  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Yeah, it is a pretty good view. I believe our table awaits." Landon gave her a charming smile, holding out one arm to her. She ignored it and walked across the roof to the checkered blanket that laid out with it's picnic basket and bottle of something in a bucket. "Those two went all out."  
  
"Ah thought ya came up with this on ya own...?"  
  
"Nope. I was just told to show up and everything would be ready. Are you ready to eat, because I am."   
  
She rolled her eyes then sat down, attempting to keep her skirt in place while sitting comfortablly. "Did they provide any good food?"   
  
Landon shrugged but sat across from her, beginning to pull things out of the basket and set them up on the blanket. It actually looked good except for the sappy music playing from somewhere that neither of them could see.   
  
Neither of them spoke until they'd gotten their plates made up and something to drink. It was a few moments of eating in silence before they decided to try talking, without getting into anything that would upset one of them.  
  
"What's ya opinion of Bayville?" Rogue asked after taking a bite of her chicken and chewing it. She stared at her plate, avoiding having to look at him and see his reaction to her question.  
  
There was no answer for a few moments then he spoke. "It's acceptable but I prefer Ripley. At least there I could sleep on the floor in the gym without a problem. I've had to start spending the night with friends and being out by morning again," he said, though his voice didn't really betray any emotion. He seemed almost emotionless. "You didn't seem exactly thrilled about your brother's cocern before, Rogue. Why?"  
  
"Kurt's mah foster brother; we ain't even blood related. He thinks that every aspect of mah life should have his input and that ah'm just supposed to accept him after what his mother put me through. The professor told me that **forgiveness** comes harder then _forgetting_," she said before she could stop the words. She didn't want to start giving him any insight into her life or a lecture on the institute. That wasn't her alley. "Kurt and ah have a lot to work out."  
  
"Be glad you have him, Rogue. You're lucky someone cares about you," he said, standing and walking over to a garbage can that hadn't always been there. He tossed his food and the remainder of his drink into the can then walked to the edge of the roof, looking down.  
  
Rogue followed his example and dumped her food, walking over to stand by him. "Life ain't as easy as ya think. Ah didn't know Kurt as anythin' beyond a once-in-awhile friend until about a year or less back; it's hard to just change mah life to fit in a brother ah've never known."  
  
"Do you care about him? It's a simple question. Answer it."  
  
She shook her head. "Ah'm not discussin' mine and mah brother's relationship with you. Ah don't even know ya beyond what ah've seen and that hasn't exactly shown me much about you," she said as she stepped forward onto the ledge, straining her eyes to see the ground.   
  
Landon turned and walked away. "What do you want to know?" he asked over his shoulder, his tone was of someone going to execution.  
  
"Why are ya so quick to snap on someone?" At his confused expression, she offered an example. "Y'alls first day at school. One of the guys made a comment and ya nearly broke his hand; why?"  
  
"I take offense easily. I've spent the last seven years on my own, without anyone taking care of me. Why change a good thing?"  
  
"The professor offered Katherine a place for ya here, at tha institute."  
  
He laughed, cold and bitter. "Yeah, right, Rogue. It's charity and I don't accept that; I never have."  
  
"So ya'd rather spend the night sleepin' on other people's couches and be gone before mornin' then accept help from people that honestly want to help ya? Ah didn't want to come here either, but it's about tha only place that really tried." Rogue rose onto her knees to glare at him.  
  
Landon came into a similar position, facing her. "We're nothing alike, Rogue. Get that through your head...I'm so sick of that music!"

* * *

_The Brotherhood Boarding House of Bayville  
_  
"Bravo, _chere_. You have managed to look less like de undead and more like a member of de living," Remy greeted when Wanda came down the stairs, glowering at him. He ignored the confused looks he was recieving from the brotherhood, especially Pietro or Quicksilver. He decided to push his luck and met his date at the stairs, kissing one of her hands. "Ready to go, _belle_?"  
  
Wanda pulled her hand back and wiped it on her leg. "If you want to live, don't ever do that again," she scowled then swept down the stairs, coat billowing around her. She wasn't in a pleasant mood, if the look she shot toward the other members wasn't a key; it had them fleeing the room for safer quarters.   
  
"Shall we go, _belle_? Remy has reserved a place for us at de resteraunt of his femme's choice."  
  
Pietro appeared at his side in an instant, looking rather irritated. "Stop hitting on my sister."  
  
"Of course, _mon ami_." Remy held out his arm to Wanda then followed her outside when she simply rolled her eyes and walked past him. He had to almost run to catch up with her. "Why so angry, _mon noir ange_?"   
  
She turned on him, glaring. "Stop with the endearments and pet names! It is not charming. I don't like you nor do I want to go on this date, but it's another way to annoy my jerk of a brother. Do you understand or do we **need** a translator to get through the evening?" she demanded, clenching her hands into fists.  
  
"Remy understand, _noir ange_. He will try to mind de manners his family forgot to instill in him," he said, offering her a charming smile before beginning to walk. She fell into step with him after a few moments.  
  
_Remy did not sign on to date de creepy chick. He just wanted to improve his relationship ship with the relationship shy Rogue; he wasn't looking for other dates or another obsession. Rogue was a full-time obsession, even for him._  
  
"What's _noir ange_ mean?"  
  
Wanda's question caught him off-guard. "Black Angel. It kind of suits you, no?" he asked, giving her a charming smile as they came to the resteraunt. It was some cafe that had good burgers and such from what he'd heard others say. An odd place for the two of them.  
  
"You wish, Gambit."   
  
He reverted to his gentleman behavior by opening the door for her and standing back until she'd entered. He noticed that people began to stare at them almost instantly. They were an odd pair for such a normal place.   
  
Wanda's black scowl and dark clothing were enough to set them off but her gothic, silver and black jewelery combined with his natural good looks and strange clothes made them an immediate point of attention. His boots made a lot of noise; hers were minimally loud, too. Their heated arguement over what to order also drew them further attention.  
  
"Have y'realized that people are staring yet, chere?" Remy asked after taking one of her hands and leading her over to a table. He pulled out her chair; she sat in the one opposite the one he pulled out.   
  
_This femme is more trouble then the other._  
  
"Have _you_ realized that I don't care?" she returned with a blank expression except for the silent challenge in her eyes. She dropped her attention to the menu, beginning to mumble things under her breathe. None of it sounded like English or any other known language.  
  
Remy made his selections fast, choosing a few spicy, cajun-like dishes that were served. He focused on his dinner companion, watching her mumble and talk to herself over the choices. He was beginning to wonder if she was schizophrenic when the waitress arrived.  
  
"C-can..can I take your order?" she asked, looking rather pale at the thought of even speaking to Wanda. She cast worried glances toward his dinner partner, looking uneasy, but smiled on him.  
  
"Of course. Remy will have..." He rattled on several food choices around his flirtations with blond, pale blue-eyed waitress that couldn't have been any older then his own date. She gave him extra attention until he'd finished, and she noted that Wanda had begun tapping the underside of the table with her shoe. "Take the femme's order before she gets carnivorous. A pretty femme like y'wouldn't want to see Remy hurt, wouuld you?"  
  
The girl gave him a bright smile then turned to Wanda. "And your order...?"  
  
"First, Gambit, you're so full of yourself. Second, give me..." Wanda gave her order without looking at the waitress, focusing instead on her menu then on a packet of salt.  
  
"I'll be back shortly with your orders." She gave Remy a smile that could have charmed a snake then walked off while humming some song to herself.  
  
"She seems nice, huh, _chere_?" he asked, staring at her bowed head since her full attention was on the salt packet.  
  
"She's an airhead. A low even for you."  
  
"The femme jealous?" Remy looked intrigued.  
  
"Don't lie to yourself."  
  
"The femme wounds my heart."  
  
Wanda's head shot up. "You want a _wound_ for real? I'll give you one, Gambit...just say the word."  
  
"Kim Possible?" he asked, remembering some stupid thing that had been playing on the cartoon John refused to turn off. It was about some annoying, red-haired girl that saved the world with her idiot of a best friend and his naked pet.  
  
She didn't reply.   
  
"I'm starting to feel as though I've upset you, _chere_. Have I?" Remy asked, covering her hand on the table with one of his own. It was yanked away only to pour ketchup onto his hand a few moments later before she returned to glaring out the window. "You're not a very nice femme, are you?"  
  
"My father put me in a mental institute around the time I was seven or eight years old; how would you be, Gambit?"  
  
"Is that why you're so into de dead look, _chere_?"  
  
Their waitress arrived then with their food and her phone for him. He smirked, knowing he'd never use the number. His business and selectivly walking with Rogue took up most of his time; he didn't need another femme screwing around with his head.  
  
Remy began to eat, watching his dinner partner play with hers by stirring it around before beginning to eat. She mixed several things together, but he decided not to question her way of eating; that was a bad thing to ask a femme. They got upset.  
  
"How's your food, _noir ange_?" he asked in an attempt to make some sort of conversation. He'd never been much for silent dinners even if it was just background music.  
  
"It's eatable," Wanda mumbled around a bite of something.   
  
"That's good. Do you want to dance?"  
  
"This place isn't for dancing, Gambit. If you want to do that, go somewhere else where that kind of thi--" Her sentence was cut off when he grabbed her hand and stood, leading her over to the open area of plain flooring. The jukebox-like machine was playing some country sounding song. "This is not funny."  
  
"It's not meant to be funny. I thought you could use some fun," he said, forcing her to dance with him, though she refused to adjust her arms or stiff posture to fit his. He smile despite the black scowl she sent him.  
  
"I'm wasting valuable searching time to waltz around resteraunts with the likes of you?" She broke out of his arms, mumbled something, and started to stalk away. Remy smirked, catching her around the waist with one arm and dipping her so that her head almost touched the ground. "Gambit, this is **not** play time!"  
  
"Are you sure, _chere_?"  
  
"Gambit!"

* * *

_The Brotherhood Boarding House of Bayville  
_  
"This is your big idea for our date? I could have gotten a better deal with the fuzzy dude...he actually had plans to go OUT. Have you ever heard that word before, Lance?" Tabitha Smith placed one arm against her midrif then balanced an energy ball on her hand.   
  
Lance Alvers flipped on the tv, scowling in her direction. "If I had my way, we wouldn't even be together. I'd be doing something with Kitty until she had one of her mood swings and decided she needed to get home before Logan had a pony."  
  
"I wanted a pony as a kid."  
  
"Shut up, Tabitha. We're just going to watch some movie on HBO and eat popcorn then I'll pretend we had a long, _self-understanding_ _talk_. I'll go to the X-geeks therapy meeting, discuss how much I appreciate Kitty, and stop attenting the stupid meetings."  
  
"Here's your popcorn, yo," Toad announced, hopping into the room. There was a trail of popcorn following him from down the hall where he'd come. More fell out onto the floor as he jumped onto the back of the couch, almost dumping the bowl over the couch and Lance.  
  
"Toad!"  
  
"Where did my sweetums and that hoodlum go? I have to stake my claim."  
  
"Wanda doesn't want you. Get over it."  
  
Lance took the bowl from his overactive friend then pointed out the window. "Go move the thing on the roof until there's a clear picture.."  
  
"The antenna?"  
  
Tabitha created two more energy balls and began to attempt juggling with them. It failed and she ended up having to make more balls, scorching the walls in several places and almost hitting the tv.  
  
"Would you knock that off?" Lance continued to alternate between the tv and the window, watching Toad's progress. "It's almost good. Move closer to the edge."  
  
The tv glowed with a perfect picture for a moment then there was a yell and Toad tumbled off the roof, holding the antenna. He grinned.  
  
"Sorry, yo."  
  
"Forget it. We'll just go..somewhere else and see a movie," he muttered, grabbing one of Tabitha's arms and yanked her out the door, allowing it to slam behind them. He stalked over to his jeep then glanced at her when she pulled away and quit following. "Problem?"  
  
"I want to drive."  
  
"You drive my jeep enough, Tabby."  
  
Tabitha crossed her arms, tapping one foot and waiting.   
  
"Fine. You can drive...but nothing illegal."  
  
She smiled and flung her arms around his neck, gripping it tightly. "Would I do anything illegal?"  
  
"Honest answer or the one you want?"  
  
"Honest."  
  
"_Yes_."

* * *

_Xavier's Institute (Kitchen area)  
_  
"You really know how to cook? That is such a cool talent," Jubilee gushed, playing with the different seasonings and spices that were on the counter. She moved them around until they formed a letter J.  
  
Scott Summers glared down at the pot of boiling macaroni, calling Jean names in his head. He did not like the idea of spending the night in a sixteen-year-olds company especially since he had to cook dinner for her.  
  
"Do you like watching the cooking channel? I've always thought that was a boring channel..." Her one person conversation continued on around his silence, making him wonder if she'd notice him leaving. He didn't think she would. "...shows about food just make you hungry and then you gain weight and on and on. When's dinner going to be ready?"  
  
"When this part finishes, we're ready to eat. Do you always wear yellow?" he asked, turning back to see her reaction to the question he'd been wondering since she came to the institute.   
  
Jubilee looked taken aback for a moment then shrugged. "I like yellow."  
  
"That's obvious." He ran his gaze over her yellow jacket, yellow hair clip thing, and the bright yellow shoelaces that were tied into her sneakers. That was a new development along with the bright yellow eye shadow she wore. Amara's handy work or maybe even Kitty's. It still didn't look very good.  
  
"Is that sarcasm on Scott Summers' tongue? Now I've seen it all," she said, moving the shakers and bottles around until they formed a smiley face. She used her hands to create small fireworks then smiled up at him.  
  
_I'm going to kill Jean for making me spend the night with her.   
_  
"Have you ever tried a color other then yellow?" he asked once they were sitting at stools in the kitchen, eating a dinner of fishsticks with macaroni and cheese. Dessert was some pie that he'd gotten a recipe from off of tv.  
  
"For what?" she asked, dumbly. Her attention left her plate to gaze at him; he thought he saw something like adoration in her eyes but passed it over to his recent lack of food.  
  
"A color. Don't you get tired of yellow?"  
  
"...No...Am I supposed to?"  
  
Scott sighed, taking a drink from his soda can. "It might make people more at ease around you..."  
  
"Robert said yellow was **my** color." Jubilee frowned. "Did he lie?"  
  
"Yellow's just an annoying color."  
  
"Has anyone ever told you how cute you are?" she asked after a moment of silence. The random question almost had him falling out of his chair while choking on his soda. "Oh, Scott, are you okay?"  
  
"...Fine.." He pulled away from her and moved to the other side of the counter with his food under the pretense of needing more salt.   
  
"Has anyone ever?"  
  
"Ever what?"  
  
She sighed. "Has anyone ever told you how cute you are?"  
  
"I think you just did. Can we avoid comments like that?" Scott gave up on eating and dumped his food into the garbage, dropping his plate into the sink.  
  
"Why?"  
  
He sighed. "Nevermind, Jubilee..."

* * *

_Upcoming Dates to Look Forward to:  
  
Angel and Jax, Natasha and Toad._   
  
_A/N: Hey, how do y'all like the dates? There will be more attention paid to each date at the next meeting of the relationship counseling. Next chapter will have the remaining two dates that I plan to show; I've decided to skip a few since they'll be bad enough during the discussion._


	7. Extreme Dating

_Disclaimer: I don't own. I have a low amount of money, mainly $4.10. I wouldn't recommend sueing. Tara and Nanaki are property of Takamo while Julius and Natasha belong to another friend, unnamed since her name changes entirely too much; she knows who she is. I own all others that are unrecognizable. I do not own the any language nor do I claim it is all right; it probably isn't.  
_

* * *

_**Downtown Bayville, Losmas Apartment Complex  
**_  
"Angel, your date or whatever's here."  
  
Angel glared at her closed bedroom door then mumbled something against her uncle. She checked the mirror again, making sure that her make-up was set. She'd outlined her eyes in black again and painted her lips a frozen blue before outlining them in a darker color then gotten dressed. She shook her head and exited her room, pulling the door closed.  
  
"You don't have to yell, Vel, I'm right here," she announced upon entering the front room to their small apartment. She stepped around the scattered kid toys to reach the black couch where Jax and her uncle were sitting. "Hello, Jax."  
  
"Hello yourself, Angel," he replied with his usual hiss, rising and coming over to her. He waited until he reachecd her then bent close as though to kiss her but instead spoke quietly, out of Vel's hearing. "You look half dead."  
  
"That's the point," she said after disentangling herself from such close quarters with him. She faced her uncle, shrugging her shoulders in a gesture that she was at a loss. "When do I gotta be home?"  
  
"Before one."  
  
"Be here by eleven-thirty, and that doesn't mean pulling the gate shut at eleven-thirty, Angel." Kristal's voice was muffled from the kitchen where she was cooking. Something crashed then there was a bit of mumbling followed by a child's laughter.   
  
_Eleven-thirty. That's plenty of time since it's only eight now. What are Jax and I supposed to do for three and a half hours?_ she wondered but walked into the kitchen and gave her aunt a hug, stopping briefly to play with her nephew, who was drawing at the kitchen table.  
  
"You don't have to save dinner. I'll probably eat it in the morning for breakfast. See you, Kris, Vel. Daniel, behave," she told the two-year-old after giving him a hug. She grabbed a sweatshirt then met Jax at the door, pulling it closed behind him. "Now for our ground rules."  
  
Jax feigned shock after allowing his hood to fall back, exposing the scales around his slitted eyes and giving a view of his fangs. He smiled. "We already have rules, Angel." He said the name in a way that made it sound like an insult.   
  
"No, Jax. Here's my rule: don't you dare bite me." Angel tensed when he leaned so close to her that she could smell the venom that would pour from his fangs into a person.  
  
"I only bite when asked," he taunted from the same position then pulled back, flicking his tongue out against her cheek.  
  
_If we both live through the night, it'll be a miracle,_ she thought, glowering at his back as he started away.  
  
"Coming, Angel?"  
  
"Do I have a choice?" She took off running and caught up to him just as he rounded the corner and started toward the lake. She pulled on her sweatshirt then lifted her hair out, trying to force it out of her eyes. "Were you the one that came up with all this or did the relationship counselors do it?"  
  
"Relationship counselors. I was just told to pick you up, have dinner, and go for a walk." He continued walking even as he spoke to her, reaching the trees that bordered the slope to the lake within a few moments.  
  
Angel was almost out of breathe when she caught up to him. "Where are we going for a walk?"  
  
"How about off a short cliff? Or do you not trust me that much?" he asked, dropping the bait, though she didn't take it.  
  
"I don't trust anyone that much. What reason have _you_ ever given me to trust you?" she demanded as she followed him down the trail of rocks that had been carved out at some point. She slid several out of the way with her telekenesis then continued walking as though nothing had happened. "Except maybe Tara."  
  
"What are you babbling about?" Jax questioned with a glance back at her as they reached the bottom. He held out a hand; she ignored it. "By the time you finish talking and get down here, our food will be cold."  
  
"And we'd hate to leave the serpent king without food for too long, wouldn't we?" she asked, allowing sarcasm to drip from each word.   
  
"One more comment like that and I'm going to say screw the rule. You'd probably make an interesting snack, Angel," he replied, smirking when her expression turned into a look of irritation with a slight worry. He noted it with a satisfied, but still vicious, grin then mocked a bow. "Have a seat."  
  
Angel didn't say anything about his sudden shift in manners but instead sat down on the blanket, drawing her knees up so she could rest her folded arms on them. "Why can't I just have one night where things go normal for me? No sarcastic comments, no saddistic people, and no guys who think they're a gift. Is that too much to ask?" she mumbled, though her voice slowly slipped into Spanish. It was majority unrecognizable but there was a little French thrown in.   
  
"I never knew you listened to Margolian's class."  
  
"I don't. Let's just shut up and eat then we can end this night before one of us kills the other," she said, digging through the basket of food until she'd removed it's contents. She stared at the contents then smiled, holding up a bottle of something purplish-colored. "Oh, look, it's wine."  
  
"I doubt it. Take a drink," Jax said more like a command then an offer.  
  
She took the bottle and tipped it back, taking a swallow before setting it back down. She waited a moment then made a face. "Grape juice."  
  
"I thought so. How 'bout we make a deal?" he asked, taking the bottle back and pouring it into two glasses that had been sitting there. He held one out.   
  
"What kind of deal, Jax? You're a **liar** and you **cheat**, usually," she replied before taking the glass from his hand. She held it the way she'd accepted it, waiting.  
  
"_Touche_. I'll stop my little comments since you get enough abuse from Juilus, if you'll forget the parts of my personality you've seen this evening."  
  
_It would make the night easier to deal with. No sarcastic comments in exchange for my forgetfulness. Where's the fun in having a bad memory if you can't forget things?_  
  
"Deal. What's the worst that could happen...? Let's drink to it."   
  
They drank to it then started on dinner. It didn't take long before they'd made it through their roast beef sandwiches, chips, and the majority of their bottle of Grape Juice. It had for the majority just been something to wash down the food since neither particurally enjoyed the flavor itself.  
  
"Okay. How did you and Juilus get roped into this whole counseling bit?" Jax asked after shoving the rest of their picnic stuff into the basket and standing. He picked up the almost empty bottle, balancing it in the palm of one hand.  
  
Angel shook her head. "I don't know. Jean called me into her office earlier today and told me that one or more of my teachers has reported that I'm in an abusive relationship. She suggested we come to the meeting but more or less bothered me all afternoon until I dragged Juilus in, arguing and fighting me every step of the way," she explained, following his lead by getting up and walking to the edge of the water. "Think you could hit a duck with that bottle...?"  
  
"Does that mean you'd like me to try, Angel?" he asked with the hiss back in his voice, flicking his tongue out from between his lips. He concentrated a moment then threw the bottle; there came a quack followed by a thunk and a few bubbles coming to the surface. "I think that means yes."  
  
"You killed a duck," she mumbled in somewhat awe.   
  
"Your suggestion. We have a walk to take," Jax announced, taking one of her arms and almost pulling her along with him. She pulled away then fell into step beside him to walk at the edge of the water.  
  
She stopped to remove her shoes and socks then stepped into the water, mumbling something about it being cold. She stood there a moment before smiling. "Hey, it's cold."  
  
"Water normally is. Are you always this stupid?" he asked, though he abandoned his cloak and boots to follow her into the water then caught her arm, attempting to pull her toward the rock lined shore.   
  
"There's a difference in _stupid and ditzy_. Stupid is not smart but ditzy is you have some minor problems with comprehension. I'm not stupid, I'm ditzy." She pulled away again and splashed water onto him, smiling like the angel her name called her; it failed.   
  
Jax sighed. "Sure thing, Angel. We're getting out of the water and going to finish our walk then you're going home, okay?" he demanded, taking her arm again and yanking her out of the water against her will.   
  
She glowered at him. "What is it with guys thinkin' they have to manhandle someone to get their way? Has it ever occured to you that we might listen better if you **ASKED** us, instead of forcing us? Of course not. That would ruin your chauvinistic pig way of life wouldn't it?" she replied with an even heavier accent that normally.   
  
"Are you this flattering to all guys?"  
  
"No. I'm sometimes more but you deserved it, bucko!"   
  
There was silence a moment then Jax's expression shifted into one of amusement. "..Bucko..?"  
  
_I have no clue where that word came from. I really have to stop listening to Vel's conversations with his out-of-state business partners. I'm picking up how they talk and words they use. Not good. I won't use anymore words unless I'm sure of what they mean.  
_  
"I don't know! I..got...confused," Angel mumbled with her head down to stare at the wet hems of her jeans and the mud that clung to her feet along with grass and the like.   
  
"It's okay, Angel. I know you're not that bright since the last snowball fight we had; not many people would be after running into a parked car."   
  
She glared up at him. "I did **not** run into a car. The car moved into my path, and I didn't notice it," she amended after a few moments of silence. She stuck her tongue out at him. "So there."  
  
"You're acting like a seven-year-old."  
  
"Oh, and the fact that you licked me earlier made you how old? I mean, really.."  
  
Jax smirked and leaned down close to her, flicking his tongue out again, though this time it was far enough away that it didn't touch her face. "I enjoy mocking you. Your reactions are worth a million dollars," he replied with another flick of his tongue.  
  
"I hate you."  
  
"Less talking, more walking."  
  
"Why didn't you attend relationship therapy with Tasha? I know you were supposed to be there..."  
  
He shook his head. "There's not a problem with my relationship. Tasha and I are doing fine beyond occassional abusive streaks and the fact that her father along with the people she works with hate me. Raggedy Anne and Andy can't fix their realtionship, much less anyone elses's."  
  
"I'm guessin' that you mean Jean and Scott...?" Angel offered him a smirk then seemed to realize that she'd left her shoes, glancing back. "I left my shoes..."  
  
"Go get 'em."  
  
"Thanks, Jax! Juilus would tell me to leave them or get them later," she said then leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before running back down the bank to the group of rocks where her shoes could clearly be seen.  
  
Jax shook his head. "Walking plague...? Not even close, Juilus. Not even close."

* * *

_**Burger King (....)  
**_  
"This isn't the resteraunt I chose, Todd."  
  
Natasha Creed glowered at her dinner partner for the evening and continued sucking on the straw of her drink. She tapped her overgrown nails against the marble table top, watched him play some video game in the kid's area, while waiting for her food.  
  
"It's not that bad, seriously, Tasha. This is five star when compared to what we normally eat," came Toad's answer, though he didn't look away from the game. His full attention had been on it for the last thirty minutes since they'd ordered their food, evacuating the fast food join in the process.   
  
_This is what I'm stuck spending the night with? Don't I see him enough since I have to work with him? I'm going to kill Little Miss Perfect and Little Mister Good Puppy. At least I know that Jax is as miserable as me since he's spending the evening with Angel...  
_  
"I won!! I won! Toad won! Yo, Toad in the house!" Toad did a 'small' victory dance around the play area then took off running and vanished into the maze of plastic kid toys, running up the slide and vanishing. His voice echoed back. "Toad in the house. Toad in the hizouse!"  
  
"Shut up, Toad. No one cares that you beat a stupid video game," she scowled then began to shred the kid's color sheet that someone had left laying on their table. She ripped it into long strands then spread them out on the table, using each one to represent a possibility on how to kill Toad. It was starting to have calming effect to think about the the frog without a head or about a number of other possible deaths.  
  
He came tumbling down the slide then landed in a heap near her feet after sliding across the floor. "You're beautiful when you're angry, my love," he announced then snickered and bounced off into the plastic child's castle thing.  
  
"TOAD!" Her shriek added a few cracks to the windows and scared the group of teenagers that had been gossiping and talking behind the counter. She looked over with a scowl. "Is our food ready yet?"  
  
"Um...it's a-a-almost ready," one of the teenager girls stammered out then vanished behind the rack of burgers. There was the buzz of voices that was broken by the sound of Toad's video game.  
  
"I'm suprised you haven't blown a brain cell because Wanda's out with that cajun stalker," Natasha called over to him, sucking on her straw a few moments longer. She pushed it away with a mumbled statement that no one else understood.   
  
"Wanda's out with another stalker? What?! I'm confused. She said it was just a meeting with some guy..for 'revenge' purposes. Did Wanda lie to me?" he asked, frowning at the mere thought. He didn't look away from the video game; his hands never left the controls, either.  
  
She nodded, slowly. "Yeah, Todd. She did."  
  
"I can't believe my sweetums would lie to me," he mumbled out of nowhere, in the middle of their silence. He stood at the machine for a moment then began to press more buttons. "I'll color her a picture, yo. It'll be of flowers and such and then she'll have to love me, right?"  
  
"Yep. That's it...Toad..."  
  
She wasn't going to waste the rest of the night by arguing with him about Wanda's obvious lack of interest. The girl was rather obvious if the numerous times she'd shoved him away or tried to kill him were any clue to the obviousness of his one way love; it was growing pathetic.  
  
"Uh...h-here's your food, miss." The teenager girl, Samantha, as her name tag proclaimed in bright lettering, had come over with a tray loaded with the foods they'd ordered. She set it down then retreated behind the counter with her co-workers, talking in a quiet voice that wouldn't carry to their section of the resteraunt.  
  
"About time." She didn't say the comment aloud but the urge to was strong. It was almost as strong as her urges to do something about Pietro's constant flirtations and suggestive remarks. She concentrated on her dinner partner, instead. "Toad, get over here and get your food!"  
  
Toad stood there a moment then took the sheet of paper that the machine printed out; he folded it up and stuffed it into one of his pockets, hopping over to the table. He stared a moment before frowning. "Yo, where's my flies? **I asked for flies, yo!**"  
  
"Most fast food places don't sell flies by the bucket, Toad. It's not exactly a common food or something that's part of a real food group," Natasha told him around a bite of her hamburger.   
  
_Why I have to spend the evening with the fly obsessed frog prince?_ she wondered, though she didn't speak her thoughts through their meal. She ate her own food then a portion of his, taking it when he became interested in capturing flies and other such bugs. _I don't see what I've done that's horrible enough to deserve this._  
  
"Yo, Tasha! Since when are there blue lights outside of Burger King...?" His question drew her attention to the crowd of officers that had met Samantha and another guy outside. She mumbled under her breathe then stood, yanking her jacket on.   
  
"Let's go, Toad. That's what we like to call cops...just leave the flies."   
  
Natasha bolted out the glass door, abandoing their remaining food and the garbage their food had created. She waited only long enough to be sure Toad was gone then vanished down an alleyway.  
  
"At least it wasn't another boring school night...."

* * *

_Random Line of Coming Attractions:  
  
"We're allowed to wear Halloween costumes here? Katherine never let us wear 'em since Angel and a couple of others have issues with anything they can't see the face of, namely clowns and halloween masks."   
  
"I have the perfect idea...circle up guys...no masks required..." Kellie motioned with one hand and they circled up, beginning to whispher and talk among themselves._


	8. Halloween PROLOGUE

_Bayville High School (Inside one of the classrooms)_  
  
"Does anyone know what we're going to discuss today?" Nanaki asked with glared toward the back of the classroom. Her gaze settled on a group of football players. "Problems, Duncan?" Her voice was low and conversational but held a warning.  
  
"Of course not. I was just...admiring your figure," he said with a smug smirk. Several of his friends snickered, making Nanaki's expression darken further. She stood still but tapped her nails against the chalk board in a slow rhythm; she seemed to be waiting for a further explanation. None was given.  
  
"Then maybe you can tell us what this is..?" she asked with a brief gesture toward a drawing that had been, distastefully tacked to the nearby bulletin board. It showed all the parts of the human body, male and female but was devoid of any form of explanation or words. She made a sweeping gesture to show the upper part of the body.  
  
Duncan's mouth worked for a moment then slammed shut as he shook his head.  
  
"I didn't think so. If you intend to pass my class, you will do something other than gawk at females and make rude observations or comments. Are we understood?" Her tone remained conversational but her eyes spoke a depth of violence that had him nodding and staring at his desk. Silence continued. "Now first..."  
  
The lecture went well for the next forty-five minutes then turned into a discuss of the differences in male and female hormones before moving on to the homework assignment for the day. The answer to her final question was the last straw since one of her original, much threatened students provided the answer.  
  
"Are there any questions? .....Landon."  
  
"I think I need some extra help with this course. Could we meet at my house...say around eight o'clock?" Landon asked, leaning back in his chair and giving her a view of his empty sheet of paper. He hadn't written a thing all period long.  
  
Nanaki slammed her hand onto the desk. "Class is dismissed early. **Leave**!" She waited until the students were leaving then came to stand in front of Landon, shoving him back into his seat with one chair. It took little effort since he obviously knew he was in trouble. "You're staying."  
  
"Quality time, Nanaki?" he quipped, smirking.  
  
_One...two...three...four  
_  
"Why all of a sudden do you have to behave like this? I don't appreciate your comments and don't tell me some bullshit story, Landon, I've known you long enough to tell the difference in the two. You got out of that phase after our first talk...or do you need a refresher course in _medievil torture_, with Celesta?" she demanded, glaring at her student with a look that could have frozen fire. It was that bad.  
  
Landon just shook his head. "I'd rather not. I still have scars; what makes you think something is wrong with me...?"  
  
"I've dealt with you for five years...I've learned enough to know most of my students' behavior, almost ritualistic, if you ask me," she said with a pointed glance at his empty sheet of paper. He didn't say anything but instead turned back a few pages to a page covered in writing; he had taken notes, unreadable but notes. "Then what's the problem?"  
  
"None. I just wanted to bug you..."  
  
Her expression darkened and her eyes took on a slight red tint, but the green didn't vanish. "Don't do it. **_WE_** don't like it."  
  
Landon gave her a salute and stood, picking up his stuff. "Sure thing, Nanaki Celesta Lucifer Creed." He gave her a smirk then walked out with only the sound of his shoes to show that he had even been there.  
  
_Why do we insist on teaching here, Nanaki?_  
  
"I haven't figured that out yet."   
  
_When you do figure it out, tell me. Most of these kids barely pay attention to what we tell them.  
_  
"Angel and Tara listen. There's others...at least I think there are others," Nanaki mumbled then noticed that the back wall had been decorated by a group of would be artists with paint pens and pencils. It held several anti-mutant slogans and even more designs that more than likely stood for things that were along the same lines.  
  
_Still think they listen?_  
  
She mumbled a couple of things under her breathe then hit her head against the wall several times. This motion continued until she became aware that someone else had entered the room and was hanging around the doorway, watching. She didn't have to look up to know who had found her smacking her head against the wall in irritation and self-annoyance.  
  
"That ain't exactly the healthiest thing in the world, darlin'."  
  
Nanaki glared in his direction. "What do you know about health? You don't exactly **fit** a Gatorade AD yourself, Logan," she growled, ignoring Celesta's voice in her head.  
  
_Can we hurt him again?_   
  
"You students are walking the halls but the class period isn't over. Want to explain why?" She thought a moment then shook her head.   
  
"No."  
  
"Unable to handle your own students?" Logan walked into the room, glancing around then noticed the graffitti on the back wall. He ignored it in favor of looking around the rest of the room. "It looks like you have things under control."  
  
"Logan?"  
  
"Yeah, Creed?"  
  
"Fuck you."  
  
"I assume you learned such language from Sabretooth?" he asked, walking around the classroom despite her anger.  
  
"Get out of my classroom."  
  
Her head was starting to hurt since Celesta wouldn't shut up. It had gotten to be that way a lot lately since she'd begun holding conversations again. It wasn't easy, or even normal, to pretend there was nothing going on when your split personality wanted to play mind games; to put it simply, _it sucked_. Her students didn't help any since the majority of them, at least the originals, found Celesta to be cool except Tara. Her only encounter with Celesta had freaked her out for good.  
  
"Why do you always have to be so damn impotent?"  
  
"Impotent?!"  
  
_Logan, Nanaki, that's enough. Your language choice is appalling especially considering I've recieved several different reports from students. I'd much rather you keep your language abscent, Nanaki...and, Logan? Stop provoking her._  
  
_Can I hurt him now?  
  
Be quiet, Celesta!  
  
Sheesh, some folks are so touchy about things...  
_  
"Do you have a point to being here, Logan? State it and leave." Nanaki crossed her arms across her arms and glared at him, willing him to leave her classroom. It wouldn't have done any good to try and force him; he would have more than likely come back again.   
  
"I thought you'd like to know that you have to chaperone at the Halloween dance..."  
  
"What dance..?"  
  
"It's a new thing to get the different schools bonded together. Kelly and Xavier's idea...you have chaperone duty. No costumes except for students," he said then gave her a knowing look before heading out.  
  
"I don't do dances...especially not chaperoning."  
  
"Not my problem, Creed." His voice was the only thing that came back since he'd walked out the door.  
  
_...You should have let me kill him...  
  
Shut up, Celesta!_

* * *

_Relationship Counseling Meeting #2 3:30 p.m.  
_  
Jean smoothed a non-exsistant wrinkle from her khaki pants then flicked dirt from her entirely too pink shirt. She smiled at the entrance of their last two Relationship Counseling members then cleared her throat, slipping one hand into Scott's; the move appeared to make him uncomfortable.  
  
"We're ready to discuss our dates now, aren't we? Did anyone figure out the point behind the dates Scott and I set up for you?" she asked, returning to her overly perky guidance counselor voice. She looked around the circle while waiting for an answer.  
  
Scott mumbled one, though it was just loud enough to be heard. "To drive us all crazy."  
  
"No, Scott. The point was to allow you each to appreciate the significant other you've found at the moment or realize that you need to break things off with your significant other for whatever reason there may be. Who would like to start our discussion of lessons learned from these dates?" She waited a few moments, looking around the circle until it became clear no one would volunteer, willingly.   
  
They just need a little boost, she though, using her telekenesis to make Remy raise his hand. "Yes, Remy?"  
  
Remy looked confused a moment then shook his head. "De devil y'know is better den de devil y'don't know."  
  
"Ah ain't no devil, swamp rat!" Rogue smacked him...again.  
  
Jean ignored them. "Juilus?"  
  
"Never go out with a valley girl whose vocabulary fails after the words like and whatever," he said, glanced over at Kitty then shuddered. "Ugh."  
  
Angel rolled her eyes and petted his head. "Poor, poor baby."  
  
"Angel?" Scott said, taking the next name on the list since Jean seemed preoccupied with twirling a strand of her hair and reading something. "What did you learn?"  
  
"Snake guys aren't so bad. They're even romantic," she said then tried to cover a laugh when Juilus spoke.  
  
"And I'm not?!"  
  
"No."  
  
"Rogue?"  
  
"Ah hate lovey-dovey music." The strange part to this statement was that something like a smile, or similar, crossed her face when they mentioned the date. Rogue actually looked normal for once, minus the make-up and creepy clothes.  
  
The gesture was lost on Remy. "Remy would never do dat, _chere_."  
  
"The jury's still out, swamp rat..."  
  
Jean had now finished reading and returned to her group of adolescents, offering them each a smile. She folded one legs over the other and patted one of Scott's hands, holding it in hers. "I had a date with the new wood shop teacher, Damien, and I learned that strip clubs are fun," she said with a completly serious expression. The others took this as omen, apparantly, and began to laugh; several fell out of their chairs and onto the floor.  
  
_"Jean Grey, you went to a strip club?!"_ Scott came out of his chair so fast that it fell over, knocking over a can of coke which spilled into the keyboard. The computer glowed for a moment then shot sparks.  
  
Jean blinked then nodded. "Yes, Scott."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"...Damiens works there," Natasha pointed out, sharpening one of her nails with a knife or something. It moved slowly and in a steady rhythm.   
  
Jean continued around them once she got her boyfriend sitting again. "How was your date with Jubilee, _dear_?"  
  
He shuddered and twitched, a slight one. "Too much yellow. Too much yellow. Too much yellow....." The chant continued for several minuts.  
  
The entire group stared at him. **"Oh, get over it!"** they yelled as a union then became occupied with other things.  
  
"It's okay, sweetie," Jean said before giving him a kiss. "I won't let the scary little yellow girl bother you anymore. How was your date, Natasha?"  
  
"Never go anywhere with a date that doesn't bath, especially when you have enhanced senses," Natasha mumbled before sharpening her nails some more. Jax just stared at her with a look of confusion and distaste.  
  
"Last one, since Lance is absent today. Jax?"  
  
"Walking plagues can be fun. She's not so bad, Juilus. If you don't want her, can I have her?" he asked, looking completly serious. Natatsha smacked him in the back of the head before he even got out 'have her'; this was followed by the pointing of her knife at him. It had no effect.  
  
"My angel," Julius said with a glare in his friend's direction, putting one arm around her. Angel smiled. "You can't have her. Mine. Mine. Mine."  
  
_I think we've helped them see how important love is_, Jean thought with a pleasant smile. _Now I can get on with my studying...and maybe go back to the strip club to watch Damien some more. Scott doesn't have to know why I want to go to the club...but first...  
_  
"How many of you feel more secure in your relationship?" Every hand went up. "How many of you are aware now of how important your significant other is?" Every hand went up again. "Is everyone now positive of what direction their relationship is taking, good or bad?" The routine continued for another six questions until the last one. "Now I want you all to give your significant other a kiss."  
  
Angel shook her head. "Boys have cooties," she pointed out after standing and attempting to remove Juilus' arm. It failed.  
  
"Kiss and you can leave. It's imparative that we see what the way you kiss says about your relationship at this point," Jean said, walking to the door and opening it. "Kitty, you may leave since Lance is gone. Rogue, Gambit."  
  
Kitty left. Rogue and Gambit approached but instead of kissing they hugged; it was the best those two could get. She didn't notice that once they reached the hallway she smacked him, mumbling something about "stop trying to feel on me". Angel and Julius were next.   
  
"I still think boys have cooties," she mumbled under her breathe but gave him a brief kiss. He caught hold of her head and held it longer before she shoved him. "I have to wash my mouth out now...blech!"  
  
Jean frowned. "Not a good sign, but it's a start."  
  
Jax and Natasha's kiss deserved a parental advisory sticker, though there weren't any avaliable.  
  
"Remember the first meeting..._affection is good if gone about appropriatly_. That was not appropriate..." The poor redhead looked ready to faint at any moment. Her mouth frowned and her eyes held disapproval. "Try using nice, polite kissing."  
  
Jax stared at her. "You need therapy, lady. Lots and lots and lots of therapy," he said before walking out and joining his friends.  
  
"**HEY!** We've got the perfect idea for Halloween!" Russ's voice split the air seconds before he ran up to them accompanied by Tara, Kellie, and Landon. He focused on his friends as Rogue and Remy walked off with a good two feet between them; Landon watched this with a scowl. "Read this poster."  
  
Angel took the poster and read it aloud as the others crowded around to see. It was orange with a combination of black and bright blue writing. "Halloween Get-To-Know-You Dance. Bayville High Gym. Starting at 9 p.m. and going through 2 a.m. Costumes a must. Seven dollars for tickets then concession stands foods. Omigod, are these people for real?" she asked, looking around the circle. Her amused expression was mirrored by every one of her friends.  
  
"We're allowed to wear Halloween costumes here? Katherine never let us wear 'em since Angel and a couple of others have issues with anything they can't see the face of, namely clowns and halloween masks."   
  
"Can I help it that I developed **clown phobia** at a young age?"  
  
Tara shrugged. "I'm afraid of blenders."  
  
"_What?!_" The others stared until she shrugged and took the poster, spitting several globs of sticky goo onto the back. She placed it against a row of lockers and banged for a moment until it stuck and held.  
  
"I have the perfect idea...circle up guys...no masks required..." Kellie motioned with one hand and they circled up, beginning to whispher and talk among themselves. It only took a few moments for them to hear and understand the plan; it would actually be quite fun to see the reactions to their new costumes. "Halloween's in two days so we have to do the break tonight. Who can get out...?"

* * *

_Random Line from Next Chapter:  
  
"You do know we're breaking into a maximium secruity institute full to the brim with mutants, students and several faculty members, right?" There was a nod. "And that doesn't bother you the least, little bit?!"  
  
"No. Do you want to pull off Halloween or not..?"  
  
"Yeah...but I refuse to dress like the good son.... Tara..? Russ..? Hello...?"_


	9. Early Start on Halloween?

_Downtown Bayville 4:30 p.m. (An hour and a half after school let out)  
_  
"We need sticks."   
  
Julius shook his head and leaned down, picking up a stick from the outskirts of the lawn. He held it up and waved it around for a moment to test it. "Once you sharpen the end, it'll work well enough to cause some pain," he said, gathering up about eight more and stuffing them into the bag he held. It was black and resembled a typical, cop show body bag. "That takes care of the sharpened sticks."  
  
"That's about all that we can get from Kellie's house. Her parents think we're a bunch of juvenile deliquients that are posioning their daughter's already messed up mind," Russ stated after walking away from the large lawn with a quick wave to the gardener.   
  
"I think Jax might be a juvenile delinquient and a couple of the others. How exactly do you define a juvenile delinquient?" he asked after they'd gotten over the gate and back onto the main road. It didn't take much work with their mutations, but it was long enough to draw attention to themselves. Neither of them had acknowledged Kellie's brother and he'd returned the favor in kind. "At least three of our friends might fit it."  
  
Russ shrugged. "No clue, but we have sticks. I've got a knife to sharpen them later," he said, scratching out something on a list. He moved down and read off the next item. "Helmet."  
  
"_Helmet_? I think Jax might have one at his place..." He started walking toward the lower center of town, ignoring the people he almost ran over or the strange looks their bag recieved. Several people gasped or even whispered about it; he ignored them. "What else will we need...?" he asked, frowning.  
  
"When we get the helmet that only leaves...blue paint, halloween make-up, and some normal make-up for the not so gothic and creepy ladies," he read, earning even more strange looks. He ignore them and continued walking. "What exactly **is** the blue paint for?"  
  
"Kurt Wagner's blue when not in his human form."  
  
"Oh.."  
  
"Here's Jax's place," Julius said then started inside, speaking once to the land lady and a couple of other tenants hanging around the halls. He moved past them all and unlocked the door, going in and straight toward the tiny closet to search for the helmet. "I know there's a helmet in here. It fell out and hit me on the head when I was looking for something in here earlier. There. Is. A. Helmet. In. This. Closet."  
  
Russ went into the kitchen and began raiding the fridge, taking out several different types of cheese and lunchmeat along with a loaf of bread. The Miracle Whip jar and a thing of pickles followed along with some other things that weren't exactly sandwich foods; he began assembling them on a slice of bread that was resting on a napkins.  
  
"We ain't here to eat, Russ," Juilus' voice growled from his place inside the closet. There was a loud _THUMP_ then a yelp. A glance into the hallway showed his partner, Juilus Augustus Kanteon, the great, lying on a heap in the floor with sports equipment piled on top of him. "Get this stuff off of me!"  
  
"Let me finish my sandwich...it's a hero sandwich. Exactly like my hero, _Shaggy Rogers_, used to make for himself and his pal..._Scooby-Dooby-Doo_!" He continued placing things on top the bread to the point where the sandwich was at least a half a foot high. He stared at it for a moment after replacing the condiments then wrapped it in a paper towel, sticking a toothpick through the center. "It's beautiful," he said then pretended to wipe away a tear.  
  
"Get this stuff off of me!" Juilus' voice wasn't so friendly anymore and there was a threat with his words.  
  
_Some people are so touchy. It wasn't like I was actually going to leave him there...I'm not that mean, am I?_ Russ wondered as he walked into the hall and began removing stuff from his fallen solider in arms, the term Tara had dubbed them, despite the others groans at the names. He tossed the equipment into the closet once more, though his piling was possibly more hazardess then the original layout. _I don't think I'm that mean, but I do know how to appreciate a good hero sandwich.   
_  
"Helmet and sticks. What's next?" Julius asked, brushing away dirt and stalking out with the body bag. It was now even more misshapen thanks to the helmet that had joined their soon to be pointy sticks. A few people stared at the bag but none seemed eager to look inside and find out what was making the odd shape.   
  
Russ chuckled. "Halloween make-up. Time to visit Angel's relatives, isn't it?"  
  
"Bingo. They're the only people I know who keep halloween make-up year round because they _actually use it_ more then just one day in one month per year. And if by some _bizarre coincidence_ they don't have any...there's always a drug store down the street," he said once they were walking again.   
  
It was a little harder to find Angel and Tara's place of residence since the millions of apartment complexs looked exactly alike. Their paint colors rarely differed and the ones that did made no improvement except to push people as far from them as possible. Losmas Apartment Complex was one of those that differed but not in a good way; it's main building was a chipping bright orange color while the actual housing units were painted almost any color someone could think up. The dark green painted one had a giant sign made of posterboard and a blue permanent marker that read **ANGEL LIVES HERE**.  
  
"That's kind of a bad thing to do. What if someone wants to kill her?" Russ asked, motioning toward the sign. He walked around a rather large puddle of water and mud where several baby toys floated; the couple that lived there were yelling across the lawn at each other. The woman held a baby on one hip and what might have been a frying pan in the other. "...or maybe the neighbors would just _scare_ the person away..."  
  
Juilus ignored everything around them and approached the housing unit, testing the door. It was locked so he went around to the back and fiddled with the knob until it clicked then slid open. "Thank you, Angel," he said into the empty room.   
  
Russ stared at him, scratching one side of his head. "What did she do..?"  
  
"How do you think I knew the door would open with enough jingling? I've been over here so much that Angel showed me how to work the back door and get in while her relatives are gone...just shut up and help me find the stuff, Russ," he said when the boy simply looked even more confused. He moved through the halls and into Angel's room, ignoring the yellow police tape that stretched across the doorway; it was a joke. "It's a shoe box with newspaper clippings glued across it and holds make-up. There's a combination or halloween and normal make-up."  
  
"Normal and Angel can't be used in the same sentence, bro."  
  
"Shut up, Russ."  
  
"Found it!"  
  
"Then all we need is blue paint..."  
  
"Where will we get blue paint?"  
  
"Leave that to me. I know a **gu**y who knows a **guy** whose **girlfrien**d has a **cousin** who knows a **gu**y that has a **cousin** that sells paint," Juilus said, looking quiet proud of himself.  
  
Russ blinked. "_Eh?_"

* * *

_Wal-Mart's Parking Lot (Wally World, if you must) 5:30 p.m.  
_  
Kellie parked the car in the first avaliable space she saw and got out, locking the doors once Corey had followed her lead. She waited a few moments while he dug the list out from one of his many pockets; she took it once he had.  
  
"What's our first stop?" Corey asked, starting to walk toward the entrance with her. He walked straight into the door, blinking at the sudden tears that came with the move. "...I thought it was automatic.."  
  
She sighed and yanked him to the other set of double doors. "These are automatic. See the red strip and the place where it says **au-to-ma-tic**?" she asked after they'd gotten inside. Several mothers with young kids glanced in their direction then looked away in an attempt to pretend they weren't staring. "Whatever. We need hair dye, red and blonde."  
  
"Why do we need hair dye? Wouldn't it be just as well to buy a couple of wigs in those colors?" he asked once they'd got beyond the store's greeter. The store stretched out i nfront of them in a combination of rows and sectioned off areas.   
  
"Maybe. We discussed it and decided that temporary dye would do just fine. It'll fade out after a couple of washings...don't worry so much. Are we asking _**you**_ to change your hair color?" she questioned, walking down the aisles and ignoring the obvious stares they recieved. She had a feeling that most of these people weren't used to girls with bright pink hair and a ton of spiky black jewelery running around with the town good kid; _screw them_.   
  
"Not yet.."  
  
"Relax. The only ones who are dying their hair are me and Angel," Kellie repeated, just as she'd done on the way there.   
  
Corey was paranoid, always had been and more then likely always would be. He had the strangest sense of forboding about everything _especially_ where the government was concerned. In Corey's opinion, they were all crooked con-artists in charge of millions of helpless, moronic ants. No one ever bothered to correct the flaws in this view or mention that he called himself a helpless, moronic ant along with everyone else. He'd gotten in trouble once for announcing his plan to take over the world with the offspring of his hamster, _Tipsy_; the babies had died three weeks later, killing that dream. It still hadn't stopped Corey from attending counseling for the rest of the school year.  
  
"_Hellooooo_....earth to Kellie. Earth to Kellie...are you in there?"   
  
She blinked, noticing his hand waving in front of her face. "What?"   
  
"You just passed a bunch of hair dye or were you looking for other options?" Corey asked, staring at her like she'd grown another head. He was holding up several different types of dye, though none were the colors they needed. "What colors did we need again?"  
  
"Red that matches our assistant guidance counselor's hair, though that could be a hard color to match. The other color's blonde...like this!" She grabbed a box of hair dye and held it out to him. It showed a _paper doll pretty blonde _with a false smile and no real values. "We need to find red hair dye now, possibly two bottles to make sure there's enough...would you put that down?" she comanded, taking the box of purple streaking hair dye from his hand and shoving it back onto the shelf. "Where's the picture?"  
  
He searched a moment longer then dug out a photo of Jean that had been cut from an older yearbook. They studied the color, attempting to match it with one color when there were at least fifteen different shades of red...it was **somewhat** _intimidating_. None of them were the right color, most had an unnaturally bright color, though a few came close enough that it could count. It wasn't like anyone was going to be comparing the difference in hair color, _right_?  
  
_I'll just grab two different colors and she can mix them_, Kellie thought then nodded, grabbing one bright red and a darker one in the hopes that it would lighten into the correct color. The odds were slim but then again the dark red could cover the black streaks and the light red could take over the rest. _Perfect.  
_  
"That's the first couple of things we need...what's next?" she asked, holding the two boxes in one hand. She took the picture of Jean and crumbled it up then tossed it over her shoulder as they started away. "Brown wig and a bag of ice."  
  
"I can understand the wig- Kitty but...a bag of ice?" Corey stared at her, blinking rapidly as if confused.  
  
Kellie shook her head and started toward the halloween aisle. "It's part of the Bobby Drake costume. Don't ask; you'll see it in a couple of days," she said once they'd reached the halloween aisle. She located a box of wigs and began digging through them, tossing several at him in the process. She finished going through them then held up to wigs for his inspection, one light, one dark. "Which one is clos..." The words died on her lips as she stared at him. A blonde wig was on his head and he was studying himself in the mirror from a Belle, **Beauty and the Beast**, costume. "Corey!"  
  
He jumped, looking guilty. "I was just testing out a new look," he mumbled, tossing the wig back into the box with the others. He studied the two wigs for a moment then pointed at the darker one. "That one."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It looks closer to Kitty's hair color?" he offered after a moment of silence, putting the mirror back.  
  
"Good answer. Picture test!" They compared a picture of Kitty that had been cut from the same place as Jean and began comparing the wigs with it. "Um...the dark one."  
  
"Okay...bag of ice?"  
  
"Bag of ice."  
  
Kellie paid for their supplies then met Corey at her car, unlocking the doors before she'd reached it. She stowed the bag that held their supplies in the backseat then got in, shutting the door and starting the engine. She drove out of the parking lot but made a stop into the first gas station, buying gas along with a giant bag of ice.  
  
Corey didn't move from the car but instead fiddled with the radio, turning it to first country then onto rap music then back to country. He yelped in suprised when she dumped the bag onto him then shoved it into the cooler at his feet, mumbling something about "_no respect for the white guy_".  
  
"Shut up and leave my radio station alone, Corey," she commanded, flipping it onto an oldies station and putting the car into drive.   
  
"What's next?"  
  
"Nothing. We go wait it out at Jax's apartment until the others are done...it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours..."

* * *

_Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters 7:45 p.m._  
  
"You do know we're breaking into a **maximium secruity institute** full to the **brim with mutants**, students and several faculty members, right?" There was a nod. "And that doesn't bother you the least, little bit?!"  
  
"No. Do you want to pull off Halloween or not..?"  
  
"Yeah...but I refuse to dress like the good son.... Tara..? Jax..? Hello...?"   
  
"Just go, Landon. If we have a problem you can work your charm on the _good little mutant girls_, right?"  
  
Lance glared behind him then followed his friend inside, ignoring the remark. It didn't do any good to argue with Angel, even he knew that little fact in the short amount of time they'd known each other.  
  
"Would you two shut up arguing and come on?" Tara demanded, making a U turn to come back for them. She glared at first one then the other before pointing down the hall. Both looked somewhat ashamed then started down the hall after Jax's rapidly disappearing form. Tara waited until they'd reached a junction of hallways then removed the list, glancing over it.   
  
"What's the first stop, frogger?" Jax asked, leaning over her shoulder to look.  
  
"An outfit of Kitty's, an outfit of Rogue's, and some of each of their make-ups," she said, squinting slightly to understand Kellie's handwriting. It was a mission in itself to understand what had been written there. "Which room is theirs, Landon?"  
  
"The second one on the right. Those two share a room," he announced after consulting the hand drawn map in his hands. He turned it a couple times then nodded. "Yeah, second one on the right."  
  
"Is anyone in there right now?" she asked, folding the paper up and sticking it back into her pocket. She tried to ignore the fact that Jax was breathing _almost down_ the back of her neck and listened to Landon.   
  
He shook his head. "Dinner started fifteen minutes ago. Neither one should be back before we grab what we need and get out, but if they are...I know how to deal with Rogue," he said, smirking.  
  
Angel rolled her eyes. "I'll just **bet** you do."  
  
"Shut up, Angel."  
  
"Oh go to--" Her words were cut off by Tara's hand covering her mouth and pressing hard. She struggled to talk for a moment then fell silent, nodding when asked if she would be quiet with the hand gone. "Jeez, wouldn't a _shut up_ have done the same thing, Tara?"  
  
"No. Now, you two go into the first room. Jax and I'll head over to the boys' dorm to get what we need from their rooms...call if you need anything but without making a sound, got it?" She tore the list in several places then swapped them, handing certain ones to Angel and others to Jax. "Hang onto those. It's a list of what we need from each room, _nothing else_...think you two can handle it?"  
  
"Sure thing, _captain_," Landon said with a false salute. He took his part of the list and started into the bedroom with Angel at his side; the two seemed quite talkative for only gathering clothes and make-up. "Angel and I will be back before you know it, right?"  
  
"Aye, aye, _Cap'n Tara_," Angel piped up with her own salute before they vanished through the door.  
  
Jax frowned. "Should we worry?"  
  
"I'd say yeah. Well time to find the boy's dorms," she said, consulting their map again then starting down a hallway. She continued walking without noticing anything until Jax suddenly grabbed her arm and yanked her into one of the classrooms. Her speech was cut off by one of his hands pressing over her mouth while his other arm around her waist held her in place.   
  
"Company," he hissed close to her face. His mouth was close enough that they were almost kissing despite the venom on his breathe; she glared at him, attempting to move his hand from her mouth. "Did you really think I had _anything else_ in mind, frogger?" he asked, smirking at her expression.  
  
Footsteps came close to their door then passed after a moment. Jax removed his hand once they were gone and smiled at her, starting back into the hall. Tara stood there and worked her mouth for a minute after realizing that it had gone somewhat **numb** under the pressure of his hand on it.  
  
"Coming or not, frogger?"  
  
_I won't snap at him. I won't snap at him. I won't snap at him._ Tara repeated the chant inside her mind as they walked into the first room they reached. It was painted a flat tan color that did something for the brownish trim and plain accessories of the room. It had a few things here and there that made it look at least lived in, but it was rather hard to notice them unless one looked, hard. I won't snap at him. _I won't snap at him. I won't..._  
  
"Scott's room. What do we need from here?" Jax asked, rummaging through the closet and making faces at the clothes. He held up a pair of khakis and a tan colored polo shirt; he shuddered and hissed. "Clothes like **this** are the reason _I wear a cloak_ _and combat boots_."  
  
Tara ignored him and began searching through the nearby bookshelf, shoving things aside. She jumped, slightly when something fell off and shattered. "Well damn...that's one less thing to have to move..." she announced, starting on a drawer. She pulled a pair of red-lensed sunglasses from the drawer and held them up. "Sunglasses."  
  
"Clothes that will be burned after they're worn, correct?" Jax held up a couple of hangars with clothes on them. He held them as far from himself as possible then picked up a pair of shoes, tossing them into the garbage bag she'd removed from one of her pockets. "What's our next stop?"  
  
"The blue dude's room...Kurt or whatever..."  
  
"Lead the way," he said, making a bowing motion. He took the bag and slung it over one shoulder before following her into the wall. He whistled several different times but got ignored until they reached Kurt's room. "What do we need here....frogger?"  
  
"Quit with the frogger comments. You're gonna draw someone's attention...all we need is an outfit of clothing from here," she said, going to the closet and beginning to rummage through it. She pushed clothes aside and pulled out several different outfits, comparing them then tossed a couple of articles of clothing in his direction; they hit the floor. "**Jax!**"  
  
"Yes, _my pet_?" he asked, coming over and standing directly in front of her. His mouth was entirely too close to her face since she could smell the venom in his mouth; she frowned, cringing away. "Did you need something?"  
  
Tara turned her head to the side and caught the clothes with her tongue, pulling them over then trying to stuff them into the bag Jax held. He moved it out of the way several times then licked the side of her face before straightening and tucking the clothes in as though nothing had happened; he started out of the room like nothing had happened.  
  
"What is it with you licking people?!" she demanded, running from the room and catching up with him.   
  
He shrugged. "Do you have a problem with being licked?" he asked once they'd passed a room with several people inside, stopping only briefly for her to yank a skateboard into the hall with her tongue. She almost yelped when one of the wheels ran over it then shoved it into the bag.  
  
She stopped walking and glared at him. "Yeah. Don't **most people** have a problem with a guy licking the side of their face?!" she demanded, burying her head back in the bottom of the closet where she was digging for stuff. She tossed several pairs of shoes over her shoulder, ignoring the the hisses of protest from behind her. "I'm sorry. Did _I hit you_?" she asked without caring what the answer was.   
  
The closet was a mess but it didn't take more than a few moments for her to dig out a pair of boots. Her next job was digging through the closet and trying not to gag on the cologne that was coming off the clothes in heavy clouds.   
  
"If I weren't in such a normal mood...."   
  
"You talk too much, Jax," Tara told him, tossing him one of the trenchcoats from the closet. He put it into the bag then stood there, watching her.   
  
"I didn't think we needed anything else after this fool's room."  
  
Tara ignore him and started from the room then stopped, listening. She looked behind her and motioned to him. "Footsteps...and voices...someone's coming, Jax..."  
  
Jax grinned and caught one of her arms, hard. "Now the fun begins," he said, yanking her into the closet with him and covering her mouth. He pressed hard enough that her mouth started to go numb **again**; she tried to bite him and earned him arm pressing harder against her stomache. "This is for your own good...besides when was the last time you were this close to another person without being scared?"  
  
_Who said I'm not scared?_ she thought, struggling against him but stopped when the voices and footsteps entered the room. She frowned under the pressure of his hand then concentrated on the voices, listening more to who they were rather then what they were saying. _Remy and...I can't place the other but it's female. Very female, obviously.  
_  
Tara stopped listening at some point because the next thing she knew, Jax was pinching her. It was just below her elbow and made worse by the small amount he was pinching. "Stop!"   
  
"So the frog princess awakes.."  
  
"Are they gone or not, Jax?" she demanded, pushing herself away and shaking her head. There was a crick in her neck and their bag of spoils was pressed against the back of her legs, something was cutting into her leg on one side. "Jax?"  
  
"They're gone for now. Let's get out before they come back..." Jax finished speaking then grabbed the bag, pushed the door open, and bolted out, heading toward the door. Tara made a less graceful exit and barely caught herself in a half crouch before she could tumble face first into the room. "First step's kind of a toughie..."  
  
"I swear **_IF_** we get out of here...I'm going to hurt you...very badly..."  
  
"That's a big IF right now, _my pet_. They finished dinner and the halls are full of students especially one big, evil-looking guy mutant with a low temper..."  
  
"Window?"  
  
He nodded. "Window."

* * *

_Random Line from Next Chapter:  
  
"How could you do this to us, Scott?" she demanded, staring at him with tears running down her cheeks. Mascara had run along with the tears but it still made her look like some sort of freakish clown. "Did our relationship mean nothing to you?!"  
  
"What can I say, Jean? I've always had a soft spot for the gothic chicks..." He shrugged, opting for a helpless looks then looked to the other side, removing a small jewlery box from within one of his pockets. He went to the girl standing there then took one of her hands, going down on one knee. "Will you marry me, Rogue?"  
  
"Oh, Scott!"_   
  
_End Random Line from Next Chapter_

* * *

**A/N: If you want to understand that, wait until next chapter. Aren't I just evil? Anyways, review and let me know that people read this. I know for a fact that Takamo and Anything but Ordinary3 read it but does anyone else? I'd appreciate knowing. Later, y'all and enjoy the chapter.**


	10. Halloween Tricks with Ripley

_Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution. I have a low amount of money, though I might be getting a tutoring job; I just sit there and make sure the kid does his homework. I still wouldn't recommend sueing. Tara and the currently unpresent Nanaki are property of Takamo while other Ripley staff, Julius and the currently unpresent Natasha belong to another friend that got blocked off of I own all others that are unrecognizable....MINE!  
_  
**whiterose934**: Would you believe that most of these characters have at least one trait taken from a relative, friend, or myself? It's true.  
  
**Dark Angel60, furygrrl**: The unrecognizeable characters come straight from my mind and are my property unless specified otherwise in the disclaimer. They were not crossed over from anything else, though some of them might appear to have crossed a boundary; this is not so.

* * *

Rogue woke up with a headache and a half from Kitty's alarm. It had rung entirely too early and on top of that had been the fact that her roommate had been up well into the night, giggling and talking with Lance; Rogue, herself had thrown the phone out the window sometime around one-thirty then flopped into bed.  
  
The morning didn't improve. A quick count of the clothes in her room showed there was an outfit missing and she wasn't in the mood to look for it. Kitty was gone but there was the sound of singing from the bathroom, signifying that either her roommate or Jean were in the shower.  
  
_Could this morning go any worse?_ she thought, yanking a brush through her hair hard enough to rip out some hair. She stopped at the sudden pain and brushed a little slower, getting dressed and almost started applying make-up as normal until there came the sound of knocking on the door. She ignored it.  
  
"Rogue, come answer the door!" the voice was only vaguely familiar as one of the new recruits.  
  
Ignoring the girl would make her more persistent. With no other choice, Rogue stood and walked to the door, opening it only enough to _see_ her visitor and for her visitor _to see_ the death glared plastered across her make-up less mouth and face. "What do ya want?" she snarled without waiting for whatever she had to say.  
  
"**_Happy Halloween!!!!_**" The teenager, now recognizeable as Jubilee, threw a handful of orange and black confetti into her face from the bag she held. She smiled for a moment then bolted down the hall, leaving a brief shower of sparks in her wake.  
  
_One...two...three...four..._ Rogue counted slowly as she closed the door and began applying make-up. It went without saying that she was rather pissed at the childish display; it was recognizeable enough that Kitty came in without a word, changed clothes, and bolted from the room. _Seventeen...eighteen...nineteen...twenty....twenty-one...  
_  
"Where are Remy's boots?" came the next voice from the hallway followed by something hitting a wall and a couple more voices. The sounds startled her and she jerked the eyeliner pencil across her cheek, leaving a stand out black streak; she wiped it away then grabbed her stuff, storming into the hall.  
  
Logan and Gambit, _or Remy Lebeau to his female fan club_, were standing in the hall. Both of their mouths were moving and neither seemed more angry then the other, though both their expressions changed at the sight of her. She knew it was rather intimidating to come into contact with her dark scowl and the very unlady-like pose she'd taken with her arms crossed and her legs shoulder length apart; she'd taken the position from Logan.  
  
"What's eating you this morning, stripes?" Logan asked, using the nickname that sometimes infuriated her. This was one of those times.  
  
"Yeah, _chere_. I t'ought y'liked Halloween...? It is de holiday for goths, non?" Remy said with a smile that would make another girl swoon. Rogue just stared without saying anything. "Y'be a **very** **scary femme** early in the morning, _chere_."  
  
"Keep those comments up and ah'll show ya just how scary ah really _can be_," she replied then shoved beyond them and headed downstairs. A couple of the new recuits, minus Jubilee, were sitting on the steps with their school books and such, attempting homework that should have been done the night before. She walked around them and into the kitchen.  
  
"I swear I didn't do anything this time! Why would I want to steal your clothes...? I'm not that desperate for fashion sense..."  
  
_Forget it. Ah'm gonna pick somethin' up on mah way to school_, she decided, taking a quick glance around at the others. Most of them were talking and there seemed to be items missing from just about everyone of the older students' rooms. It was as though someone had snuck in and stolen all the stupid things while they were sleeping or out to dinner. Almost laughable, _**almost**_.

* * *

_Bayville High_  
  
"What do you mean I'm already here? I haven't attended Bayville High in going on a year and a half!" Jean stared at the secretary, growing irritated. Her favorite outfit had been absent from her closet that morning then the secretary had informed her that she'd already checked into school, earlier that morning. There had to be a mistake. "Are you sure it's Jean Grey?" she asked, trying not to snap at the woman.  
  
The woman sent her an icy look, reminicent of Rogue. "I'd recognize that _wanna-be real hair color_ anywhere," the woman said before returning to her paperwork. She didn't look up again or acknowledge Jean's prescence any further nor Scott's beyond," You're listed here as well, Mr. Summers. A little Halloween prank...how **cute** and **unoriginal**."  
  
"I just got to school! I have _not_ signed in..." She glared at the woman then began to read her mind, scanning through things until she found the conversation earlier that morning. It started with a couple of students arriving...their clothes were the strange part. "Let's go, Scott. I just figured it out," Jean mumbled, catching one of his arms and yanking him from the office before he could protest. One look had him silent until they were going down the hall.  
  
"Problem...?"  
  
"We were cloned, Scott."  
  
He stared at her. "Huh? You lost me on the cloned part.... are you feeling okay?" he asked after placing a hand to her forehead. She shoved it away.  
  
Jean glared at him. "Come to the counseling office." She walked past him without a further word and entered the counseling office but stopped inside the doorway, pointing into the room where there was a copy of herself giving therapy to one of the new recruits. "Figured it out yet, Scott...?"  
  
"I've become a clone!" he said with a horrified look. His clone was leaning against a wall, scowling and playing with something that looked like a knife; he started to wonder if it was. "_How could this happen_?"  
  
"Good Morning, Angel," Jean greeted her clone with a tight-lipped scowl and cross of her arms. She flipped some of her hair over one shoulder and glowered at the younger girl. "Having fun?"  
  
"Yes, very much. Thank you for asking, Ms. Grey," she replied in a perfectly manicured tone that matched her own so well it was scary. Her clothes and hair had also been altered to the point where it was a rather creepy clone thing going on. "Shall we talk again in...**say**, _three days_, Bobby?" Angel asked with a smile to the student before her.  
  
Bobby nodded, mutely then stood, zombie-like and walked out of the room. He didn't even acknowledge either of the real counselors but looked rather shocked or out of it.  
  
Julius offered a mock salute toward them both. His expression wasn't exactly pleased, but he did look somewhat like Scott; his hair color threw the entire deal off, though otherwise it was almost a perfect image. A scary fact when thought about too much.  
  
"You're scheduled to have a meeting with a group of students in an hour. Have fun, Ms. Grey," Angel said, dumping her clipboard onto the table, grabbing her bag, and motioning to Juilus. She smiled like the angel her name implied she was. "Come on, _sweetie_. We have to get to classes, don't we..?"  
  
Juilus **grimaced** at the pet name but followed her from the room, putting one arm around her in a brief hug. She pushed his arm away slightly when she lifted one of hers to straighten her hair. Jean and Scott watched until they reached a classroom; the two stopped and talked for a couple of moments, Angel making hand gestures. The bell rang.  
  
Angel's voice echoed down the hall. "Have a good day, _sweetie_," she called then gave him a kiss on the cheek. He glared once she'd gone into the room; only once she was gone did he head toward his own class.  
  
"Does that sound familiar to you...?" Jean asked with a quick look at her boyfriend. He didn't say anything but stared at the wall with a look that showed complete confusion; _**it wasn't a**_ **_hard look_** for him to achieve. "_Sweetie_, are you okay?"  
  
"Do I really act like that, Jean?" he asked, staring at the spot where Juilus had been moments before. His expression was vacant like someone who was thinking and hadn't done much in that department for quite a while.  
  
She smiled and petted the top of his head, giving him a comforting hug. "Of course not, Scott. You're much better at it," she said, opting for truth rather then lying to the boy.  
  
He nodded. "Okay."

* * *

_Woodshop Class with Damien_  
  
"Jax...what's with the identity changes and the fact that Corey's running around _in drag_...?" Damien demanded after getting his class started on their next project, whatever they could make for their final grade that semester. It didn't take looking over to know at least half of them weren't doing their projects; he was also sure of what they'd be doing instead of their work. Julius, or what had been Julius the day before, was ignoring his work in favor of _flirting_ with Natasha and adjusting his red tinted sunglasses; Natasha, for her part, was alternating between smiles and scowls.  
  
The response to his question was accompanied by a handful of ice being thrown at him. "There's several reasons for the transformations, Damien. Have you noticed that Angel's gone **red-headed**, Julius is dressed like something out of a teen magazine, Tara's developed **an** **accent**, Landon's **trying** to teaching gym, Corey's in **drag**, Russ is **blue**, and Kellie **thinks** she can skateboard?" he asked, removing another handful of ice from his cooler and throwing it at other people.  
  
Damien nodded. "Yeah..."  
  
"It's _**Halloween**_. We're getting into the spirit like our head's always encouraged...how do _you _think we're doing so far?" Jax asked, smirking then sticking a piece into his mouth to crunch on. He chomped for a moment then swallowed the remaining pieces. There was no answer. "You think this is funny wait 'til after lunch. It'll be better..."  
  
The speaker mounted onto the wall crackled for a moment then Katherine's voice filled the small room. It was her loud voice for addressing problem causers, but there was heavy amusement present in her words. "Attention, teachers. I need all Ripley students, **wait**, just those in costume, to report to Principal Kelly's office. This will not be a long meeting. A word to my students," she concluded after the announcement. There was silence present for a moment then she continued, voicing a new threat,"don't even **think** about skipping this meeting or I will **make** personal visits tonight."  
  
"Guess that's us...Julius, knock it off!" There was no answer. "Scott!"  
  
Julius looked up then stood, offering his arm to Natasha. It was ignored as she went past him, mumbling and scowling at anyone that caught her eye. "What did you need again..?"  
  
Damien shook his head. "Office, now. Katherine wanted a meeting with you guys..."  
  
Jax crunched on another handful of ice on their way out the door. He waited until they were outside then dropped the charade as a black scowl took over his face. "I hate this. Remind me again why I'm _running around throwing ice_ at people and _acting_ like a fifteen-year-old," he said on their walk to the office. It took a few moments for them to reach the office but the rest of the X-clones were already waiting.  
  
"Oh, your shirt's wrinkled, Scott!" Angel moaned, rushing up to him and wiping at a wrinkle on his shirt. If anything, her hands made the wrinkle longer until she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a bright lipstick smudge. "What will I ever do about your clothes..?"  
  
"That's enough, Angel. _Out of the character for the moment_, please." Katherine came to the door of Kelly's office and stood there, arms crossed and one hip leaned against the door. She was dressed in her normal clothes of jeans, hiking boots, and a black sweatshirt that had long ago lost the logo across the front, though her usual bun was missing. "We need to have a serious conversation....Natasha, Juilus!"  
  
Natasha smirked. "Sorry, Katherine," she said without any real apology. She followed the others into the office and took up residence around the doorway while giving Jax looks that could have killed a horse. It had no effect on him. "What did you call our meeting for..?"  
  
Their headmaster took a seat on the edge of Pricipal Kelly's desk and folded her arms, waiting for them to quiet down. "Where exactly did you get the ideas for your halloween costumes?" she asked with an expression that was having a hard time remaining stern. She seemed almost ready to laugh but hid it well. "You are _**aware**_ that you're mocking your fellow students, correct?"  
  
Group nod.  
  
"You have no problem with this idea?"  
  
Another group nod.  
  
"Then I guess there's nothing else to do. Do any of you know what **I'm** going to do?" Katherine requested after uncrossing her arms; long, blood red nails tapped against the wooden desk top. Group head shake. "I won't ask you to change your clothes or abandon your little charade but Angel, _you_ have to change shirts. That's incredibly too small and tight...also you must answer to _your own names_ instead of the X-Men's names, got it...?"  
  
Angel nodded, placing one hand against her stomache. "Good. This shirt cuts off the circulation to my upper body and gives me no room to breathe," she said with a ragged breathe. She stuck her tongue out and made a face. "You got a shirt I can borrow, Katherine?"  
  
She sighed. "Yes, Angel. I keep them just to make sure you and Tasha have something to wear when your normal clothes don't fit the school dress code. Jax, no more ice throwing in classes and Tara, please stop kissing people's hands; you're freaking some folks out, _comprende_?" she finished, raising one eyebrow and looking around at each of her students.  
  
"_Comprende_, Katherine."  
  
"Now get out of this office and back to what you people call lives. I call them stupidity with an outlet," Katherine said then went behind the desk, removing a bag. It was plastic and held several shirts; she tossed it to them. "Get a shirt, Angel, and go change. I expect you all to return to class now and behave...Natasha and Jax."  
  
"I've been behaving! Name one thing I've done wrong today," Jax challenged, giving her a look that said he didn't think she could.  
  
"Throwing ice at other students and teachers...or is that standard procedure?" Jax opened his mouth, but she interrupted him. "Don't answer that. _**Go to class, all of you**_."

* * *

_Bayville High's Hall; Shortly After Lunch_  
  
Logan _knew_ there was a problem when he realized his class was made up of seven lower classmen and none of the institute students. He'd seen clones of the majority of them so he'd figured one of the two, clone or not, would show up for his class. "Stripes, what is everyone trying to see?" he demanded, catching sight of the teen with the white streaks to her hair. He came up beside her and tried to see beyond the kids there.  
  
"It's the funniest thang, Logan...there's quite the show going on right now," Rogue told him, elbowing a couple of folks out of the way and allowing him to see. At the center of the crowd of students, stood a couple of students that had gotten their names imprinted in his memory very fast. "Ah'm tryin' to figure out where it's goin'..."  
  
"What do you mean we have to break-up?" The question was asked in shock and something like desperation. The asker wasn't any less desperate as she stared at her boyfriend and the guilty expression on his face.  
  
He sighed. "We have to break up."  
  
"How could you do this to us, Scott?" she demanded, staring at him with tears running down her cheeks. Mascara had run along with the tears but it still made her look like some sort of freakish clown. "Did our relationship mean nothing to you?!"  
  
"What can I say, Jean? I've always had a soft spot for the gothic chicks..." He shrugged, opting for a helpless look then looked to the other side, removing a small jewlery box from within one of his pockets. He went to the girl standing there then took one of her hands, going down on one knee. "_Will you marry me, Rogue?_"  
  
"Oh, Scott!"  
  
Logan blinked. "What the..." His words trailed off then he spoke again, staring at the people before him. "Did you get a clone, Stripes, or am I imagining it?"  
  
She shrugged. "It's _**Halloween**_. Stranger thangs have happened," she said with a half smirk. Her attention had wandered over the crowd and stopped on one of the other students; she shook her head but continued to watch him rather then the show.  
  
"**Yes, I will marry you, Scott!**" Natasha threw her arms around Julius' neck and hugged him, tightly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "**And we'll have a wedding in the graveyard with black roses and everyone can come!**"  
  
_This is definetly not the normal Halloween prank,_ Logan thought, wondering even more when he noticed that Rogue didn't appear offended. Most people would have been offended by such a bad imitation of themself, though she seemed to have slipped off. He looked around once and caught her walking off with one of the other students from Ripley; he didn't trust the guy. _Where's someone in charge of these kids when you need them? I have no idea what they're doing or where they got the idea. Someone should lock them all inside a mental institute and close the place down...forever.  
_  
Applause interrupted his thoughts and he looked around. The students were applauding, minus those who had been made fun of and the ones that were present. Angel's crying had stopped and she was wiping mascara and tears from her face while Julius and Natasha stood nearby.  
  
"Thank you," Angel said after a moment, taking a brief bow with her friends. Her expression had gone from tearful to highly amused within a matter of moments. The same with her fellow would-be actors. "**If **you _enjoyed _our show, there will be _another showing_ later in the day or at the dance tonight. Stay tuned for the conclusion of..."  
  
Julius slapped his hand over her mouth. "I think we'll be leaving now. We have French class now, don't we, Angel, Tasha?" he asked without removing his hand. He forced Angel's head to nod with his hand. "Hope you enjoyed the show."  
  
With those words he turned and started away from them all, hand still over Angel's mouth and Natasha beside him. There was dead silence then the applause died down before the students began heading off to their classes, laughing and talking among themselves. Several of them gave Scott and Jean bizarre or amused looks.  
  
Scott waited until they were alone. "I **don't** have a thing for gothic chicks or Rogue," he hurried to reassure his girlfriend then noticed she wasn't paying attention. "Jean..? _Sweetie_...? _Honey_..?"  
  
"Am I really _that_ hysterical about things?" she asked, pulling on a strand of her hair. She wound it around her finger a couple of times then began to chew on her bottom lip, looking around the empty halls. "Does my hair look that _fake red color_? Am I really that _over dramatic_? Do you really _care_ _about Rogue_?"  
  
"Yes. No. _Sometimes_. No," he said, answering each of her questions with what he thought were the correct. He turned out to be wrong.  
  
Jean glared at him then yelled,"Scott!" before storming off fast enough to make someone's head spin. He frowned. "What did I do...? Jean!" He stood there for a couple moments, thinking then took off after her.  
  
Logan watched this display then shook his head, wondering what had happened to the school. It had gone from slightly unorthidox to completly out there within a week or maybe more; the students Ripley were definetly making a statement. Their teachers were doing the same, he thought, remembering the too smart for her own good Irish teacher that was Sabretooth's neice.  
  
"Logan...um...we have a problem..." came the sound of Kitty's voice from the gym where his classes were held. It was amused but also somewhat distressed, though only he could hear the distress in it. "...big...problem..."  
  
He shook his head and started toward the gym, slamming the door in his wake. He stopped short to stare at his students then glowered. "How did you manage this in the amount of time since you got in here?!" he demanded, sweeping his gaze over the room for any guilty expressions. There were none. "No takers? ...then _you all_ get punished. _Dodgeball just became your game of the day_..."

* * *

_Random Line(s) From Next Chapter:  
  
"What do you mean you're watching us? It's a dance! What could we possibly do?"  
  
John smirked, gesturing around them with his arms. "That's why I'm here...to see what you could possibly do, shelia. Go have fun and pretend I'm not even here..." he said then glanced around, noticing the refreshment table. "Oh look...an icy pumpkin..."  
  
End Random Line(s) From Next Chapter_


	11. The Get To Know You Dance

_HALLWAYS OF BAYVILLE HIGH_  
  
"Remind me **again** **how** ah got talked into showin' up at _some_ _over-hyped, badly themed dance with people ah don't lahke_," Rogue commanded, attempting to adjust the sleeves encased around her arms. She mumbled a couple of less then nice words in Kitty's general direction then continued walking, ignoring the fact that her shoes were stopping her from walking like a normal person, gothic dresser or not.  
  
Kitty giggled then grasped one of her arms, holding on, tightly. "Landon's going to be here, Rogue! It can be, like, your _**second date**_," she exclaimed, giving the other girl the closest thing to a hug she could.  
  
Rogue glared. "Don't hug me. We ain't even had a first date, Kitty!" she snapped after pulling away and adjusting her sleeves again.  
  
The dress as Kitty had been calling it was a red wine color with gauze-like sleeves that went down and wrapped around her hand, vanishing between her middle and ring fingers. It was short, way too short for her to wear on a normal basis since it barely reached her knees; black fishnet stockings and a pair of over sized combat boots stolen out of Remy's closet completed the outfit.  
  
"Like, whatever, Rogue! Dinner on the roof with, like, candles, and, like, classical music is so totally a date, Rogue!" she said, giggling again before smoothing out the bottom part of her dress. Her own dress, self chosen of course, was purple or lavender if you asked her about and was a little longer then Rogue's own; it had no sleeves but instead had a couple of colorful straps there. Her outfit was completed with a plain gold chain necklace with some pendant on it. "Like, don't tell me you, like, don't enjoy Landon's company!"  
  
"Ah never said ah _didn't enjoy his company_ but it's not as big a deal as y'all wanna make it."  
  
_How are Kitty and I gonna get through this night without killing each other?_ Rogue wondered, entering the gym and looking around. She looked around for anyone that might actually provide an interest, though the odds were low since her best friend, Risty, turned out to be the blue-skinned shapeshifter who'd almost destroyed her life more then once. _Why does this stuff always happen to ME?  
_  
"Interesting outfit, Rogue." The voice came from off to her left and held plenty of mocking behind it. She didn't have to look to know it was a group of Bayville's finest students, also called the football and other such athletes.  
  
_Pass quickly_, she thought, ignoring the words except to shoot the entire group a blacker than normal scowl. She shifted her weight for a moment and attempted to ignore the on-going taunts and mocking whistles from their knot of people. _Pass quickly. Pass quickly. Please pass quickly._  
  
"You look beautiful, Rogue," another voice said, though this one was closer and didn't sound mocking at all. It was sincere but probably a joke.  
  
Rogue swung around to face him, bringing one of her hands up only to have it caught by the speaker. It wasn't a grip tight enough to cause pain but enough to keep her hand inches from his face. "_Let go of me, Landon Keller!"  
_  
Landon smiled and continued to hold her hand around the wrist, avoiding direct contact with her skin even if his thumb kept rubbing against the base of her wrist. He looked around for a moment then used his hold on her wrist to yank her to the other side of the gym and into a corner, pulling her kicking and fighting the entire way.  
  
"_Ah swear ah'm gonna suck the life out of ya if ya don't let go of mah hand_," she snarled then jerked on her arm, yanking herself from his grip and almost landing on her backside. She steadied herself at the last minute then fixed him with a glare. "Ah don't appreciate bein' yanked around lahke some dog on a chain..."  
  
"I thought you needed a reprieve before you tore one of the football guys a new...**yeah**," he finished, leaving the statement hanging. He looked over her outfit again but lingered the longest on her legs and combat boot incased feet. "You really know how to pick clothes, don't you?"  
  
"The dress was not mah choice." Rogue crossed her arms across her chest and glanced around, watching the others dancing and having a good time. She couldn't hide a black scowl at the sight of her classmates having so much fun, though she'd found someone to talk to. "Don't ya have a _sugah mama or someone_ that ya'd rather annoy...?" she asked, hoping, only a little, that he didn't.  
  
"Nope," he replied then shrugged. "Do you want me to go away and leave you alone to sulk and mumble to yourself?"  
  
She frowned. "Ah never said ya had to go away," she muttered, turning away to scan the dance floor.  
  
Kitty and Lance were dancing along with coutless other couples, including the clone dressed Ripley students. It was rather funny to see the way some people, namely the new recruits, danced and partied; it was almost laughable, almost. Bobby Drake, Iceman, was running around with something like a punch bowl on his head, attempting to dance with a heavily laughing Rahne Sinclair, Wolfsbane.  
  
Landon dug through one of his pockets then pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, thumping one out and into his palm. He placed it between his lips and started to light it until she removed it and stepped out the end, crushing it beneathe her heel.  
  
"I was planning to smoke that." He flicked the lighter closed again and removed the pack of cigarettes again, preparing to remove another. She caught his hand and held it, barely avoiding skin contact since part of her hand was bare; he waited to see what she'd say.  
  
"Those thangs are gonna kill ya," she said by way of explanation, looking around for a moment. She didn't see anywhere to put them so instead she slid them into the space between her leg and Remy's boots. "Wouldn't ya rather live a long, uneventful lahfe?"  
  
"Nope," he replied without looking at her.  
  
Rogue sighed. "What happened to make you so bitter..?" she asked after a moment of silence. She went to put her hands in her back pockets then realized she didn't have any pockets.  
  
_I just realized why I don't wear dresses_, she thought.  
  
"I have my reasons. That's all you need to know, Rogue," he said after a moment then held out one hand. "Wanna dance?"  
  
"_What_..?" She stared at his hand, blankly.  
  
He gestured toward the dance floor and the others moving and dancing out there. "**Dance**. Do you want to?"  
  
After a moment she shrugged. "Okay...keep ya hands to yaself, though.."  
  
"Of course..."

* * *

_THE REFRESHMENTS TABLE_  
  
"What exactly are we supposed to do here, Logan?" Nanaki demanded, staring at the glass of punch that was held in one hand. She hadn't drank but a couple of sips because it had enough sugar to choke someone or give some of her students sugar highs. She hoped that wouldn't happen.  
  
Logan shrugged. "Stand here and pretend to know what they're doing?" he offered after a moment, watching several of the students with a scowl.  
  
She followed his attention then shook her head. Landon was dancing with Rogue or at least forcing her to dance with him. "Give it a rest, Wolvie. The worst he'll do is break her heart and even Landon's not that cold hearted," she mumbled, taking another drink from her glass. She choked on it then set the glass down, spitting it out.  
  
"Thanks, _darlin'_. I really wanted to take a bath in sugar filled, red punch."  
  
"Glad to help."  
  
"Nanaki Celesta Luc....er, Creed, _**whyareyounotoutheredancingwiththerestofus**_?" Angel demanded in a rush, running up with a couple of other students but minus Tara for once.  
  
Nanaki just blinked. "What have I said about talking that fast? _No one except you_ understands what you say when you talk that fast," she said then waited while her young student took several breathes then repeated her words. She shrugged after a moment and leaned back against the table. "I'm chaperone, not a friend tonight, Angel."  
  
"**Wrong!"**  
  
Nanaki blinked then realized with only mild suprise that she was being yanked, along with Logan, onto the dance floor by a rather large, heavily intergrated group of their students. "Angel Elizabeth..."  
  
"Oh, relax and enjoy yourself, Nanaki!" Angel's voice was distant and somewhat distorted.  
  
Logan's response wasn't quite so nice as her own especially since it was accompanied by several threats. This amused the students who simply returned to their dance with little to no attention to their chaperones.  
  
"Did you put your students up to this in an attempt to spend more time with me?" Logan demanded, glowering down at her as students moved and danced around them. He was trying quite hard not to ram his blades into someone from the look on his face.  
  
"Don't flatter yourself. I wouldn't want to spend time with you if you _were_ my own grandfather," she replied, glaring at him through almost slitted green eyes. "You're old enough to be my grandfather, aren't you?"  
  
"You little ----"  
  
"Play nicely, children," Jax called from nearby. He gave them a look that conveyed the exact same words then returned to dancing with his classmates, though it seemed they'd formed something similar to a mosh pit.  
  
"Shut up, Jax," Nanaki said then returned her attention to Logan.  
  
"You didn't show much protest again their pushing and prodding.."  
  
"I've been teaching them for _over two years and have known most of them longer_! I know that fighting with them is useless epsecially when they all want something. I know my own students unlike you since you can't even figure out when yours have found a new friend!"  
  
He said something that wasn't pleasant or even something without a swear word.  
  
"Such language in a school!"  
  
"And you've never said anything beyond what's appropriate, Creed?"  
  
"Bite me!"  
  
"I thought you two were supposed to be dancing?" the third voice interrupted their conversation and irritated them both enough to snap back.  
  
"We're not dancing!"  
  
_Logan, Nanaki, try to set some sort of example for the students._ Xavier's voice, as Nanaki had come to recognize it, was loud inside her head but she ignored it, glaring at Logan then looking around for her students. It didn't take long to spot them at the very center of the giant crowd, jumping around and dancing. _What kind of example are you setting for the students at this moment? Standing there and yelling at each other in the middle of a dance.... you two should be ashamed of yourself._  
  
Nanaki rolled her eyes. "They've seen worse, Professor," she responded, speaking aloud rather then just through her mind.  
  
"Much worse, juvenile delinquients," Logan growled in response, earning a severe look from her. He glared back at her. "Are you going to deny that your students are juvenile delinquients?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You're aware you're **lying**, right, Creed..?"  
  
"Go play with a ball of string, Logan."  
  
He chuckled, eyeing her. "Like your uncle, huh?"  
  
"I don't have an uncle."  
  
"What do you call Victor Creed, girly?" he asked with a malice smile toward her.  
  
"Not. My. Problem," she snarled after a moment, glowering at him. "Don't you have anything better to do than harass me..?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"If I bought some Catnip would you leave...."  
  
"You're on thin ice, Creed."  
  
"And your point is...?"  
  
"**Both of you just shut up and dance!**" The words were uttered over the D.J.'s microphone and echoed throughout the entire gym, causing students to turn and look. Several of them seemed highly amused at their so called chaperones' antics especially the students that knew either of the two well enough to understand them.

* * *

_**"JOHN!"  
**_  
The aussie turned and fixed her with a look that was something between shock and amusement. "G'day, shelia. Would you mind telling a mate what's with the get-up?" he asked, smiling at her outfit.  
  
Tara hadn't changed out of her Gambit costume from school that day. She still wore the trenchcoat, boots, and other borrowed items. She hurriedly adjusted her accent back into play then smiled. "Of course, _mon ami_. I d'ink yoh're wrong...Remy is not a shelia. He be a prize for any shelia, thought. Yoh'd agree, _non_?" she asked, keeping her false cajun accent in place, firmly.  
  
"Cute, shelia. Wanna come out of character for a moment...?"  
  
"Sure. What do you want, John..?" she asked with a shake of her head and the dropping of her accent. She foled her arms across her chest and gave him a serious look. "What do you want..?"  
  
"I was just wondering why you and the other shelias and mates are running around dressed like the X-Men...or whatever they're called..." He gestured around the gym for a moment. "That and Katherine asked me to watch you guys tonight."  
  
"Halloween joke." She stared a moment then seemed to remember something else he'd said. She fixed him with a confused look. "What do you mean you're **_watching us_**? _It's a dance!_ What could we possibly do?"  
  
John smirked, gesturing around them with his arms. "That's why I'm here...to see what you could possibly do, shelia. Go have fun and pretend I'm not even here..." he said then glanced around, noticing the refreshment table. "Oh look..._an_ _icy pumpkin_..."  
  
"Pyro!" Tara yelled his name but was too late to stop him from catching the icy pumpkin on fire. This was accompanied by shouts and shrieks from several people along with a bit of yelling from chaperones and Pyro's exit, cackling and laughing.  
  
_What an ending to the dance of the year_, Tara thought, thinking back over the night. She'd terrified no less than fifteen people with her false accent and hand kissing. She remember something from earlier that day and couldn't help but smile.  
  
_Flashback  
  
"Tara Toynbee?"  
  
"Absent."  
  
"And who would you be?" her teacher asked, turning to the doorway and almost stopping short at the image there.  
  
Tara smirked and crossed to the desk, taking her teacher's hand. She brought it to her mouth and kissed it then smiled, charmingly as she'd seen Remy to numerous times before. "Remy Lebeau. I will be subbing for the femme today. Is that alright, chere?"  
  
"It is certainly not alright, Mr. Lebeau!" she fumed with a yank of her hand and a slamming of a ruler onto the desk. She glared around the classroom, ignoring her students hoots and laughters. "Where is Ms. Toynbee..?"  
  
"She took a temporary reprieve from this boring class and you, chere" she said, voicing the thoughts that she'd never had uttered as herself. Being Remy had advantages especially when it came to teachers; it was an easy way to fool them with the accent.  
  
"Tell Ms. Toynbee that if she doesn't get here within the next ten minutes, she will be spending the next four weeks in detention."  
  
"Two bad for her."  
  
"Mr. Lebeau, where is Ms. Toynbee?"  
  
"Temporary reprieve ,chere."  
  
"Where exactly are you from, Mr. Lebeau?"  
  
Tara smiled and took a bow, making her stolen trenchcoat billow out. "The Big Easy...or New Orleans, Louisiana.."  
_  
The woman had ended up kicking the so-called Remy Lebeau out of her class then sending him to the office. He had never shown up; what a shame.  
  
"Tara Toynbee, why are you **over here** when there's a perfectly good fire **over there**...?" Angel demanded, approaching her with what looked like a bunch of streams and napkins wrapped around a stick. There were quite a few of these people looking bags being roasted on the giant burning icy pumpkin. "We're trying to make** voodoo dolls**."  
  
The sound of chanting reached her ears. _"I'm on fire. I'm on fire. I'm on fire. I'm on fire."  
_  
"You lot are nuts," she said but joined the line-up, taking the paper wrapped stick given to her. She walked over and began roasting it while humming. "You do realize we're the only ones here, right..?"  
  
"Yep." Angel adjusted her stick then pulled it out. "How's she look?"  
  
"Terrific," Juilus replied, holding his person within the fire still.  
  
They roasted in silence for a few moments, talking quietly but not commenting on the fact that their numbers were different. Kellie and Corey were missing but in their places were Rogue and what appeared to be the great Toad of the brotherhood.  
  
Landon looked up from their fire then smiled. "Hello, Katherine. Want to join the _Barbeque_..?"  
  
"If this was a real fire...you would all be dead...."  
  
_"I'm on fire. I'm on fire. I'm on fire...."_

* * *

_Random Lines from Next Chapter:  
  
Unavaliable for the Moment  
  
End Random Lines from Next Chapter_


	12. Stranger Than Fiction

The P.A. system crackled, noisily for a moment then Principal Kelly's voice filled the air along with Katherine's muttering in the background. Xavier's voice could also be heard beside hers, talking in a much quieter, less aggitated way. Heads came up and conversations stopped.  
  
"_In light_ of new circumstances, developing since Friday Night's Halloween Dance...no pun intended, students. Don't laugh. Bayville and Ripley students need to raise money for repairs to the gym. No one was charged in this event _except_ for a young man calling himself Alexander Johndyce who can control fire. Details are still being discussed, although a _certain group of students_, made up of Bayville and Ripley students, roasted decorations and other such items."  
  
Katherine's voice filled the room after a moment of struggling and muttering. "There will be a bake sale, starting in three days. All students are asked to participate by baking something or having a relative bake something...those of you who participated in the bonfire are asked to make several special appearances at the sale," she said, sounding rather business-like then her tone slipped into a friendly voice. "That includes Rogue and Todd Tolensky."  
  
Principal Kelly took over again then. "_Give me that!_" he said, obviously speaking to Katherine then cleared his throat and began again. "The bake sale will be held **Saturday morning**, in front of a local store, **The Bouncing Orange**. The following students will be requested to work there because of their part in the bonfire on Friday night: _**Julius Kanteon, Angel Blade, Rogue, Landon Keller, Tara Toynbee, Natasha Creed, Todd Tolensky and Jax.**_ Damien and Jean will be chaperones during the bake sale...all students are to report at **9 a.m.**"  
  
The P.A. system clicked off around the sound of loud arguing from the office. The rooms fell silent.  
  
"Nice job, _freaks_," one of the guys clustered around a locker mumbled, glowering in the direction of the gathered mutants.  
  
Landon's head came up then and his mouth opened.  
  
"Don't respond," Tara said, quietly, almost under her breathe. "That's what they want and Katherine's already pretty pissed at us...Landon!"  
  
He'd already crossed the hall and walked straight into their group, shoving the guy who'd spoken against the lockers; he forced the sharpened bones from his hands then against his throat and held. "What did you call us?" he demanded without relenting at all in his hold.  
  
_There wasn't a response.  
_  
"It's easy to talk when we aren't right _**in**_ your face, isn't it?"  
  
"Get off me, _freak_," came the response this time, though it held little to no conviction. His throat barely moved with his speaking but that was due in large part to the pressure there. "No one wants your kind around here."  
  
Landon smiled, coldly. "You don't get a choice...get used to it or we **might** have a problem," he said without losing the smile. He removed his hands after a moment and forced the bones back into their original places, noting that the wounds were slowly beginning to heal themself, very slowly. He started away.  
  
"Damn mutant freak."  
  
He made eye contact with his friends across the hall, seeing the warning in Tara and Natasha's eyes, amusement from Julius, and sad understanding from Angel. He held eye contact long enough to convey his thoughts then started to turn, although instead of the jerks who were _mutantphobic_ there was Rogue.  
  
At some point between the mutual yet silent conversation with his friends and his turning, the halls had almost completly cleared. His friends waited only about another forty-five seconds before calling their closings to him and taking off down the hall. Julius and Angel had gotten into another swearing, fighting match.  
  
"Ya friend was right, Landon...don't give 'em the satisfaction of a response. It's what everybody here wants from tha mutants," Rogue announced after a moment, coming up beside him. Her expression went from serious into worried then and she began to bite her bottom lip. "Oh, gawd, ah sound lahke Jean."  
  
"What do you want, Rogue?" He started down the hall, clutching his single, broken spine binder with a pencil of some kind sticking out of the end.  
  
"Jeez, would it kill ya to try for a _polite tone_?" she asked after a moment, falling into step beside him. She carried her bag in the normal fashion, though her shoes made more noise against the floor than the average high schooler's, mutant or not. He didn't respond. "What exactly is it that ya hate so much, Landon? The fact that they have something against mutants or that ya're mutant...?"  
  
He glared at her. "We're not playing psychiatrist right now, Rogue. Tell me your purpose then leave me alone... you have a class to attend and I'm going for a walk," he said, continuing toward the front exit doors looming ahead. He ignored her irritated breathe and kept walking.  
  
"Fahne! If ya wanna go sulk somewhere, it ain't mah problems!" she yelled at his retreating back then stomped off, muttering and cursing. The words '_damn_' and '_boy_' stuck out more than any others.  
  
_I don't have time for this. It's not like these people would even bother to get to know anyone...damn Rogue and damn the do-good X-Men. In a perfect world, we'd be forgiven but this isn't it._  
  
Landon stalked away from Bayville High without even looking back. He continued to walk, ignoring everything around him, including the figures that had started following him since he left. Their shapes varied, ranging from really big down to small and frog-like.  
  
"Hey, you! We got a proposition for you.." The almost completly white-haired youth appeared out of nowhere, zooming up at a speed faster than the normal rate. He stood there with an arrogant smirk on his face. "It's just the place for you, Keller..."  
  
"I've had enough do-gooders in my time." He started past him, ignoring the others that had come into view. It was obvious they were all, or at least majority mutant.  
  
There was something like a laugh then another voice spoke. "Yo, we ain't no do-gooders. We leave that to the X-geeks.."

* * *

**_Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters Kitchen 4:50 p.m._**  
  
"Are you sure we should be taking _cooking lessons from Kitty_, Angel?" Tara kept her voice conversational and friendly, though she cast several strange glances in the direction of their teacher.  
  
Kitty was staring at a recipe with a heavy frown. The kitchen counter before her was strewn with ingredients for the cookies and muffins they were meant to be making, though she was still sorting through recipes.  
  
Angel shrugged, placing the bowl part of a spoon against her nose in an attempt to make it balance there. It fell. "What's the worst that could happen? Kitty might even turn out to be a pretty good cook," she rationalized with a brief smile in her friend's direction. "It's not like I'm aloud to cook anyway...plus...Remy and John are here. **Cooking lessons and harrassment!**"  
  
"You're a bad person." The statement was serious, though made less serious by the spoon that was now hanging off her nose. The serious conversation had been killed in those brief moments.  
  
Kitty cleared her throat. "The first thing we must do is mix the batter. Please mix the following ingredients," she said then began read things off from the list in her open cookbook. She gestured to the ingredient ladden island that sat in the middle of the kitchen then removed a giant bowl that was bright red in color.  
  
"Uh..." Tara hesitated while Angel simply began tossing things in, though she kept eating pinches of sugar and sprinkling flour in at random points. An accident, of course.  
  
"Tara! You will, like, never get better unless you, like, try!" Kitty's voice was loud and plaintive. It held a note of whining, too. "You never know what you're, like, good at until you, like, try!"  
  
_I wonder if Kitty passed English? It sure doesn't seem like she could with all those stupid likes,_ Tara thought but held the thought in without voicing it. Something hit her elbow sharply, knocking over the canister of salt that rested there; it spilt into the cookie mix. _Angel! Look what you made me do.  
_  
_Relax, Tara. What they don't know won't hurt 'em, got it?  
  
You're a **bad influence** on me.  
_  
She picked up the canister of salt, setting it back in it's normal position then began to stir the batter, whistling in a _non-conspirital_ _way_ that often showed guilt. The gesture was lost on Kitty and her recipe book.  
  
"Have you two, like, finished mixing the ingredients or do you, like, need another couple of minutes?" she asked with a shake of her head that made her annoyingly _peppy_ ponytail bounce up and down. She turned the book for them to see the page then pointed at a couple of sentences. "We need, like, a cookie sheet. Why don't you get that, Angel..?"  
  
Angel gave a shrug then walked across the kitchen, making a point to bounce her hair in a similar fashion to Kitty. She dug around for a few moments and made entirely too much noise then came back with a couple of cookie sheets. "Like, here you go, Kitty," she said, taking on a weak version of the valley girl accent.  
  
Tara waited until their teacher was focused on putting the covered cookie sheets into the oven then faced her best friend. "Bad imitation, Angel. It should sound like this..." She cleared her throat, thought a minute and then began to speak. "It's, like, a smooth transition not all, like, jumpy and stuff. You know, like, what I mean, right, Angel?"  
  
"If you two are through, like, gossiping or whatever it is you people, like, do..."  
  
"Yes, Kitty. We're, like, through gossiping.."

* * *

**_Brotherhood of Evil Mutants Headquarters (snickers Evil...uh-huh...) 5:05 p.m._**  
  
"This place is kept in order by _who_ again..?"  
  
Pietro looked around then shrugged, giving him a look that said it all.  
  
"You people live here under the order that you don't destory the place and do whatever some _blue colored chick_ says?" Landon asked, giving the place a critical look around before deciding anything. He scanned the falling apart walls and peeling paint then shook his head. "It seems you guys would have a better place if things were that good..."  
  
"We're workin' on it, yo!" Toad, as he'd learned the guy's name was, hopped onto the back of the couch and crouched there, looking around their home. "It'll get better with time. Give Mystique some time."  
  
"I'll think about it." He turned and walked out before any of them could reply. He had a lot to think about and would rather not be followed or harrassed. He turned back and came face to face with another mutant, Avalance or Lance. "Don't follow me."  
  
"It's just a precaution."  
  
"I don't like it,_ Avalanche_."  
  
Lance didn't move for a few minutes then back off, going back inside with a curt order to the others. Toad and the other flunkies followed him inside and the door shut, seperating them.  
  
"About time," Landon muttered, removing a cigarette and lighting it. He placed it to his mouth and sucked on the end, holding the smoke in his mouth for a moment before blowing a couple of smoke rings into the sky. "I knew there was a reason I _preferred silence_ to people talking too much."  
  
"Ya actually think' of joinin' them, _sugah_?" He recognized the voice before she finished the endearment. It took another couple of moments for him to finish his next drag and think up a quick response.  
  
"Run along and play with the other children, Rogue."  
  
Rogue glared in his direction then plucked the cigarette from his lips and stepped it out. "What othah children, sugah? Ah scared 'em off when ah mentioned you,**_ the wanna-be big, bad wolf. _**Logan already took that job," she said, crushing the cigarette tip even further. "What were you doing with the brotherhood?"  
  
"It was polite conversation, dear," he said with a smile that could have frozen a lake. Unless, of course, that lake held the name of Rogue.  
  
"Do ya know anythang about tha group ya're about to get yaself involved in..?" she demanded after a moment of glaring at his back. She hurried her steps until she came to his side then fell into step with him, ignoring the fact that he'd lit another cigarette.  
  
Landon shrugged. "Seems like a better cause then living with whoever can take me for the night or the next couple of nights...and it's better than you people's _do-gooder ways_," he said after blowing another ring of smoke into the sky.  
  
She waved it away with an almost humorous face. "Would ya stop and listen for a moment?"  
  
"Not if it's another speech about _why I should accept the X-Men's pity offer and Katherine's badgering,"_ he commanded without breaking stride.  
  
"You are sooo---" Rogue cut the words off then took a breathe and tried again. "Mystique and the brotherhood are only gonna use ya, Landon. Ah almost ruined the closest things to friends ah have now 'cause of her...think about it, Landon."  
  
He blew a couple more smoke rings.  
  
"What made ya so **damn bitter and cyincal**?"  
  
Landon glared at her. "Don't ask questions you won't like the answers to," he said, sounding even more bitter.  
  
_I'm so sick of playing chess around everything. Nothing about this relationship makes sense and I'm gonna figure out why,_ she thought, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him to a stop.  
  
He stopped walking and almost jerked her off her feet with the suddeness of his move. His hands caught her shoulders to keep her from pitching forward to the ground then held her there, waiting to see what she'd do.  
  
"Ah'm sorry, Landon."  
  
"Sorry for what?" he started to ask her but never finished the words. Her mouth pressed against his and she closed her eyes, struggling against the many memories that flooded into her head; it was strong, really strong and in graphic deatil.  
  
_**A ten-year-old boy and girl. Building blocks. Screaming and crying. Fire flickering in a window. Landon. Police cars. Handcuffs. Screaming. Voices. A cell. Someone running. Bloody walls. A blur of faces, friends and others. Angel. Jax. Julius. Tara. Katherine. A school. Classes. Walking out. An explosion. Millions of events, eighteen years worth of memories within a few minutes.  
**_  
Rogue broke their contact.  
  
"Landon?" she asked, knowing he wouldn't hear her. His eyes had glazed over in a strange, unfocused way, though he stood upright unlike most of the people she touched for so long. Even as she talked, they closed and he fell, hitting a combination of grass and concrete. "Ah, damn..._not again_.."

* * *

_Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngster's Rec Room 5: 45 p.m.  
_  
"Excuse me, everyone! Like, can I have your attention for, like, a couple of minutes..?" Kitty clapped her hands several times to get the gathered mutants', teenagers and new adults, attention then motioned forward her guests. "A couple of the students from, like, Ripley have, like, baked some cookies for you guys....it's, like, a special recipe of something.."  
  
Angel and Tara both held out a plate of cookies. The strange part was the fact that one was dark brown, almost black, with funky tan chips in it and the other was normal chocolate chips. The cookies rested on China plates with Santa Clause decorations across their surface, thought mostly covered by the cookies.  
  
"Did you have a part in making them, Kitty..?" Bobby Drake approached with caution, abandoning the game system before them. **YOU DIED** flashed across the screen briefly then it went blank, returning after a moment to the first screen. He poked at a cookie then picked it up, giving it a once over.  
  
She huffed for a moment. "No, like, I just gave them the recipe...it was, like, completly their, like...creation or whatever," she said, giving them a much too bright smile. "What are you guys, like, waiting for? Eat up!"  
  
"_Rahne..?_" Samural Gunthrie, or Cannonball to the others, looked at his teammate. She shrugged and took a cookie, sniffing it for a moment before taking a bite; she closed her eyes and made a humming like noise after a moment. "Are they okay for us to eat..?"  
  
"Yeah. They're good," she said, reaching for another.  
  
That was all it took. The others grabbed a cookie, ate a couple bites, then reached for more, nodding and mumbling their approval despite their mouthfuls of cookies. Within a matter of minutes, the plates were clean, spotless except for some crumbles and a couple of broken off pieces.  
  
"Wow. You guys cook real good," Robert De Costa, or Sunspot to his teammates, commented, chewing and swallowing his last cookie. He smiled and patted his stomache. "I'm good until dinner or later."  
  
"Yeah. They were good," Jubilation Lee, Jubilee to her teammates, said, creating a small shower of sparks. She smiled, giving a sly look in Kitty's direction. "Much better than what Kitty normal makes for us to _guniea pig_."  
  
The others agreed especially the tweleve Jamies who were munching on the last of their cookies. "We should have saved some for _poor Kurt and Scott_...they'd have needed the refreshment..."  
  
"My cooking isn't, like, that bad!" Kitty blinked to keep the tears that had formed at her eyes from falling. She sniffled a couple of times, too.  
  
Rahne grimaced. "Now you've done it. What recipe exactly was that from? I might need to make those for something later."  
  
Angel held up a book then flipped to a page, pointing down. "It's this one along with a couple of special ingredients," she said, giving a shrug then tossing the book to the younger girl. It landed in her hands, perfectly. "Salt, pickles, and sour cream can fix anything. You should try it. Remy and John like 'em."  
  
Ray's eyes rounded and the others suddenly looked sicked.  
  
_"Salt..?"  
  
"Pickles..?"  
  
"Sour cream...?"_  
  
"Do you have anymore?"  
  
The new recruits took off then, looking quiet sick except for Rahne who simply licked her lips and flipped to the cook book. "Salt, pickles, and sour cream. Got it. Thanks," she called before heading after her friends, head bent over the cookbook.  
  
Kitty held her tears back until they were gone then began to cry, sending a spray of tears out on each side. She made the _most awful_ wailing sounds without seeming to notice them especially the all but possible amount of tears she'd begun to cry.  
  
"What's wrong, Kitty..? They liked the cookies.."  
  
Angel nodded, picking a cookie half from the plate and popping it into her mouth to chew. "Yeah, they were good! What's the problem..?"  
  
_"You're ruined my recipe! GET OUT! I never want to see you again...ever! Kitty's School of Cooking for Girls is officially closed....FOREVER!"_ She ran from the room, sobbing and wailing like a freight train.  
  
Tara blinked. "There wasn't a like in almost five sentences...wow..."  
  
"We should change recipes more often. Wanna go try the recipe out on our own friends and family..?"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah. Was it three large pickles, four pinches of salt, and a dolp of sour cream that we added to Kitty's recipe?" she asked, removing a sheet of paper with words scrawled across it from one of her many pockets.  
  
"Who cares? We'll improvise...Julius and Jax will eat anything."  
  
"Tasha, too."  
  
"Yeah...I wonder if we could convince the staff to eat them..."  
  
"Doubtful, Angel, but we can try. Think of it this way: there's always Gambit and Pyro."

* * *

_Random Line from Next Chapter:_

_"What part of play nicely without powers and without causing an unneccessary problem do you people not understand? Telekenesis, pyrokenesis, fire sparks, and tongue slapped ARE NOT part of volleyball..."_

_End of Random Line from Next Chapter  
  
Author's Note: Please read and review so I'll know who reads this. Let me know about your ideas for relationships, events, and other such fun stuff. I have two other clear ideas, though I'm looking for reader help. Y'all wanna help a poor band-enslaved, very-little-music-played-off writer? Much thanks, my buddies. Later. _


	13. The Great Picnic Adventures or The Squir...

"Rise and shine, children!"  
  
Jean Grey clutched a pillow over her head and tried to ignore the voice. It had taken longer than normal to get to sleep since she'd spent half the night staring at Damien from her position in the club. There was no way she could tell Scott the reason she hadn't answered any of his summons last night was that she was drooling over the wood shop teacher.  
  
"_RISE AND SHINE, CHILDREN!_ It's time for a picnic!" Logan's voice echoed through the halls along with the sound of knocking on random doors. The next sound was closer and at her own door. "Come on, Red....get up!"  
  
"I'm sick," she called back without removing the pillow of lifting her head. She'd mastered sounding sick and making others pity her over the years. It was a good talent that had been further developed into her teen years. "I'd hate to make anyone else sick, Logan."  
  
"Nice try, Red...but you're not sick. You're one of the main ones that Xavier wants to meet with the students. For some reason, he seems to think that you and Scott will make a positive influence with them," he said then began walking away. It was obvious he was walking from the sound of his boots thudding across the carpeted floor; even carpeting couldn't muffle them.  
  
_In that case, I should get up. I'd hate to have those poor children tainted when I could have helped them out..._ Jean got out of bed, took a shower that lasted forever then began pawing through her closet. It was a hard choice between _the light pink_ shirt or the _brighter pink_ but not nearly as hard as picking between the capris or long pants.  
  
"Oh, well. It's a good thing that I look good in _**anything**_." She removed the next outfit she touched and got dressed, using the mirror to perfectly part her hair and apply flawless make-up to her face. She finished glossing her lips then kissed one side of the mirror, smiling. "_Perfect_, as always."  
  
There came another knock at the door.  
  
"I'm up, Logan!" she yelled back, pulling on a zip-up jacket and starting toward the door. She flung it open then smiled at the sight of Scott. He was dressed in the clothes she'd taken pains to iron last night and looked quite handsome. "Oh, Scott! You look just adorable," she greeted, giving him a kiss on the cheek.  
  
Scott smiled. "Uh..thanks. You look very nice, too, Jean."  
  
"Just very nice?" she huffed on their way downstairs, scowling slightly toward him. She flipped her hair over one shoulder. "_Just very nice..?_"  
  
"I mean, uh....what's the right answer here?"  
  
Jean huffed again and stalked downstairs, muttering and talking to herself. The scene before her didn't help to brighten her mood either. Members of the New Recruits and the other X-Men were gathered in the kitchen and living room, eating or running their mouths. It seemed that everyone had an opinion at that moment except Rogue who was reading a book while munching away on toast.  
  
"And look, y'all. Here comes sleepin' beauty," Rogue drawled, looking up from her toast briefly then returning her attention to the book. "And the **dog prince**, too."  
  
"You know I thought you were nice once upon a time, stripes..?" Logan offered the question and nicknamed endearment upon coming through the door with a couple of the others trailing behind. He walked into the kitchen and retrieved a mug of coffee that had his name printed on the side in _finger paint_. "Where did I get that idea?"  
  
"Ya pulled it out of a hat 'cause all tha good little mutant children are supposed to be lovin' and givin' and get along with folks," came the response before she disappeared through the back door. Her voice was heard for a moment longer then silence came except for the sound of approaching wheels.  
  
_That girl has some definite anger management issues. We should start a class in that.... There's quite a few teenagers at Bayville who would benefit from spending time learning to control their anger,_ Jean thought after walking to the window with her cup of coffee._ And half of the class just arrived._  
  
Something similar to a tank or a hummer stood in front of the mansion. Taxi yellow and covered at the back with bumper stickers and things that hung on the windows. It looked like someone had shot a couple of bullet holes through the front windshield, though there was a certain unreal look to each of the holes.  
  
"What are **they** doing here?" she asked, though the question was general rather than confinded to one or two people. No one responded to her inquiry except for something similar to a grunt from Logan.  
  
Charles Xavier rolled into the room at that moment, giving his pupils a smile. "Katherine and I decided that today was a good day for a picnic. Rather than going by ourselves, we decided to invite all of you to go along for the occassion," he explained without hesitating or even losing his somewhat smug expression. "It seems that the Ripley students will be with us longer than expected. The damage to their school was more **severe** than a first look showed..."  
  
"How much more **severe**?" Scott asked, looking up from his beverage glass. His expression gave away nothing but that might have been because of the milk mustache that outlined his face. "It wasn't that bad, was it, Professor..?"  
  
He nodded, slowly. "I'm afraid it was or is. The entire right wing of the school was destroyed, including the music room... it seems that half the ceiling collapsed inward and destroyed quite a few musical insturments," he explained then motioned toward the door. "It is time to go, my young ones."  
  
"And you can just feel the joy radiating from them, X.."  
  
"Sarcasm is a useless cause, Logan."  
  
"_Sarcasm is a useless cause, Logan_," Logan mocked behind his back without saying the words. He moved his mouth in the same manner before following the professor and students out of the mansion. "Why does Rogue get to use it..?"  
  
"She's sixteen, Logan. You're well over a hundred."

* * *

**Lafayette State Park 1:30 p.m.**  
  
"Y'are aware that y'look like part of the _**mafia**_, right, chere?" Remy Lebeau took another darg off his cigarette then focused on his companion. It wasn't that she ignored him but more that her attention wavered quite often.  
  
Angel scoffed, looking up at him from beneathe the hood that covered most of her face. It was connected to the black hoodie that covered her normal clothes, falling a third of the way over a pair of jeans. "This from the guy that walks around in a_ trenchcoat and combat boots_? And you say I look like part of the **mafia**..? HA."  
  
"You're another rather mean _femme_, aren't you?"  
  
"Another?" she asked, laughing at the note of desperation in his tone. "How many do you know?"  
  
He held up one hand, fingers sticking out from several different cut out areas. He began to count off members of the female sex then held up a finger for each girl he named. "Rogue. Wanda. Samantha. Jean...that _femme_'s just torture to put up with. Caitlin. Nanaki."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. _You tried to get a date with NANAKI?_" Angel demanded with another laugh then fell off the bench from laughing to hard. She remained sitting on the ground but looked up at him with a shake of her head; she motioned with one hand. "Gimme two."  
  
"Huh?" He leaned down, thinking that she'd meant for him to help her up. Instead of taking his offered hand, she smacked him in the back of the head twice then stood up to look around. "_Femmes_ just aren' nice to Remy anymore."  
  
"Maybe learning to speak English correctly would help..?" she offered, glancing around for a moment. Her attention settled on the imitation volleyball court that had been set up between a couple of trees where her classmates were crowded. "Ooooh, volleyball. Later, _Rems_."

* * *

**The Nature Trail 1:40 p.m.**  
  
"_Stop mocking me, squirrel!_"  
  
Logan recognized the voice even before he came upon the figure it belonged to. He glanced up at the tree and the _so-called_ mocking squirrel, though it seemed rather harmless. The owner of the voice looked much more harmful then the poor squirrel she'd begun to threaten.  
  
"I told X you had some issues of the head to sort out but...I didn't know you threatened helpless, little animals," he said, delibertly baiting her into fighting. He knew it would work especially since they'd gotten five minutes away from the kids without someone dying or whining too much. "Maybe it's unsafe having you in an enviorment with other mammals."  
  
"Bite me, Logan." Nanaki glared at him then turned back to the squirrel, shaking one fist in his direction. Her expression remained fierce and determined. "_I'll get you one day, squirrel!_"  
  
There was a chittering sound before the tiny mammal ran off, tossing several nuts down. A couple barely avoided hitting Nanaki's head, though she still glared and shook her fist after the squirrel.  
  
Logan moved toward her with his mouth open then found himself being glared at and her full attention now focused on him. "What's wrong, _darlin'_? You offered.... I think your last words were '_bite me, logan_'," he told her, grinning.  
  
Nanaki stalked past him, silently. "If I weren't on a temporary break from cursing, _at Katherine's insist_, mind you, I'd tell you exactly where you could stick your biting," came her response despite the amount of distance she'd put between the two of them. "What do you want? Did you agree to come find the mentally screwed up Nanaki Creed as payment for **something bad** you've done and are trying to get **forgiven for**..?"  
  
He rolled his eyes, fighting the urge to smack her. If it had been Stripes or another of his students he might have except this was the living, disowned neice of his somewhat immortal enemy. A bad person to do physical harm to.  
  
"Problem, Logan..?"  
  
"I think you need some therapy since you're walking around threatening squirrels," he replied after falling into step beside her. He wasn't sure if they were going in the right direction until they passed a tree, baring something like a wet stain on the lower part, though it was really a _**marking of his territory**_.  
  
Nanaki didn't respond beyond a quiet, "he started it."  
  
_And I thought Rogue could give the silent treatment. This one makes her seem almost normal...note the almost. Almost normal. Well normal as a mutant without the ability to touch can be. Normal as any mutant could be.  
_  
"Stop thinking so hard, Logan. We'd hate for you to get hurt and be unable to_ torture the students_," she said, though the words conveyed a deeper message. She wanted him to hurt himself and be out of commission for awhile. _Two could play that game.  
_  
"_Darlin'_, it only hurts if you're the one who thinks entirely too hard about it. You obviously do think too hard since you _over-analyze_ every little deatil..."  
  
"**I** over-analyze every little detail?"  
  
"Yes, Creed, you _over-analyze_ every little detail," he repeated with a malice grin that made her stop. He knew he'd succeeded in drawing her into a fight especially from the rigid set of her shoulders and the thin line her mouth had made.  
  
"Oh and you dont, Mr. **I-Don't-Think-That-Boy-Is-Safe-For-Rogue**? The girl is seventeen-years-old, Logan! Another thing...there's nothing wrong with me beyond my split personality. Why were you telling Xavier that I have mental issues?" Nanaki demanded, glowering up at him. She stood still for a minute then started again, pointing one finger at him the entire time she talked. "Another thing. I'm sick of your _holier than thou_ routine... there's no way you're as perfect as you make yourself out to be in that head of yours. _Plus_ you have _funny looking hair!_"  
  
Logan just blinked. "Do you ever shut up? I mean, do you ever shut up and _stay_ shut up?"  
  
_Can we kill him now, Nanaki?  
  
Shut up, Celesta. Go take a nap or something.  
  
Touchie._  
  
"What's it matter to you? You think I'm the evil _Lord Voldermort_ sent to murder your **precious, little mutant children**..." She cringed after a moment, realizing how that sounded. It didn't exactly sound nice especially if Katherine had mentioned anything about her background to either Logan or Xavier. "That came out wrong."  
  
He blinked. "What's an evil lord voltthemorgue..?" he asked, staring at her like she'd lost her mind.  
  
"Nevermind. It's a character out of a book series, Logan. What exactly is it that you hate so much about me?"  
  
Logan shrugged and started walk again. "You can't pick your relatives."  
  
"Amen to that," she mumbled after following into step beside him. She tried to ignore the new chant Celesta was coming up with inside her head: _kill him, kill him, kill him_. "Would you just **SHUT UP**?"  
  
"I didn't say anything, _darlin'_. Is it some kind of requirement that the teachers at Ripley have a mental disorder or just can't get along with people?" he asked without breaking stride or looking at her.  
  
"Bite me." She smacked him when he _actually_ went to bite her. "It wasn't an offer."  
  
"Then quit making it sound like one."  
  
"I'm gonna offer you **_something_** in a minute..." Nanaki never finished the sentence because Logan kissed her.  
  
She had an idea that it was just a way to make her shut up. It wasn't the kind of kiss that was exchanged betweens lovers or even just off-on boyfriends and girlfriends, like Angel and Juilus or Natash and Jax...but more a shut-up kiss. She didn't think there was much to complain about since he obviously knew what he was doing, closed mouth or not.  
  
"Found a way to shut you up."  
  
Nanaki waited a grand total of thirty seconds then slapped him, hard and right across the face. "Don't **ever** do that again," she said then stalked off, hoping he wouldn't see the fact that she'd turned almost beet red.  
  
"Yep," he replied then walked ahead of her, coming out just ahead of her into the open area that had become their picnic grounds. He glanced around, watching Katherien and Xavier talk then realized something was wrong with the game of volleyball being played nearby.  
  
The rules had broken. A lot.  
  
"What part of play nicely without powers and without causing an unneccessary problem do you people not understand? _Telekenesis_, _pyrokenesis_, _fire sparks_, and _tongue slapping_ **ARE NOT** part of Volleyball..."  
  
The guilty parties looked up and dropped the use of their powers almost immediately, giving him something close to a wave. In the amount of time those guilty were distracted, the volleyball hit the ground and ended the game.  
  
"Logan, you've ruined us!" Jubilee whined, giving him a look that could have melted ice, though she began focused on Robert and the others after a minute. Her expression went from whiny little kid into the in-love expression of a seventeen-year-old. "I think it's time we ate."  
  
"Wait a minute...Nanaki, what were _you and Logan_ doing in the woods?" Tara asked, raising an eyebrow in the direction of her friend and mentor. She propped her arms on one of Angel's shoulders, smirking.  
  
Angel grinned and buried her hands even further inside her pockets. "Betcha I can guess, Tara. Nanaki and Logan sittin' in a tree _K-I-S-S-I-N-G_. First comes _love_ then comes _marr_---" She froze in mid-song at the look on Nanaki's face and hurriedly changed the ending to her song, trying not to grin so much. "Angel's shutting up now."  
  
"Very good idea, Angel," Nanaki said, glaring at her.  
  
"First comes _love_ then comes _marriage_...then comes _Nanaki with a baby carriage_," Tara finished then gave a salute and took off toward the picnic area.  
  
_Why have we never killed them, Nanaki?  
  
I don't know. Personal debt to society..? Maybe the rest of the world should get tortured by them..._  
  
The sound of humming and a familiar tune drew her attention to the picnic tables where different foods had been set up. It didn't take long to figure out exactly who was humming and why.  
  
"_Angel Elizabeth Blade_, you hum **one more bar** of that I'm going to show you how nice Nanaki can be..."  
  
"You can't take a joke, _Nanakins_," she called back with a grin, beginning to fill her plate with food.  
  
"_No Nanakins._"  
  
"**Nanakins**..? That's so cute."  
  
"Bite me, Logan." There was silence for a moment then a _suprised yelp_ followed by the sound of a _smack_. "_**You bit me!**_"  
  
"You offered, Nanaki."  
  
"You suck."  
  
"_Logan, Nanaki, not in front of the children!_ If you must fight that much...go on a date or something!" Xavier glared at them for a couple of minutes then returned to his conversation but turned back once, smiling, slowly. "Although, I believe a date would do both of you some good. Tomorrow you two will have reservations."  
  
**_"What?!"  
  
"That's not fair!!"_**

* * *

**Lafayette State Park Bushes 4:30 p.m.**  
  
"Get your elbow out of my side, Toad!"  
  
"Yo, quit fussin' with your hair, Pietro. It's not like it ever falls, _yo_."  
  
Lance sighed, heavily then glared at them both, slamming his foot into the ground hard enough that it cracked in several different places. "Would you _both_ stop fighting? God, it's all either of you have done since we got out of the car...and that was _**over**_ half an hour ago!"  
  
"_Yo_, you need a tic tac, Lance. **Nothing personal** but, _yo_, your breathe is kicking..."  
  
Toad made a sound similar to the squeal of a pig when Lance grabbed the back of his shirt and tossed him almost across the street. He landed on his feet despite the strange angle he'd been thrown at, _barely avoided_ hitting a tree, and glared at them again.  
  
"Learn to take a joke, _yo_!"  
  
Lance glowered at him then gave Pietro a look. "We're here to spy on the _X-geeks_ and make sure Landon **doesn't** end up with them. If you two are willing to _**stop fighting**_ for long enough to actually get something done..."  
  
"He started it."  
  
"I'm telling my father!" Pietro's words remained even after he'd taken off from behind the bushes, running fast enough that the bushes parted and blew in the wind.  
  
"Go ahead, _**damn daddy's boy**_."  
  
"I heard that!"  
  
"I don't care!" Lance yelled back, ignoring the slight breeze that he felt. It was just another sign that Pietro had come back to whine some more.  
  
Toad's coughing and chuckling drew his attention.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Dude, you have a _WHITE REAR_."  
  
"_PIETRO!_"  
  
Rogue appeared then and gave them all a look that could have sunk the Titanic. "Next time y'all _idiots_ try a stake out....try to stay _shut up_," she said, shaking her head before walking off.  
  
Lance had just opened his mouth when a bunch of ice came straight at him. "Not again," he managed before he froze. There was a shriek then three more statues followed, one crouched in the shape of Toad.  
  
"**Rogue, Bobby,** what did I say about playing with _strangers_?!"  
  
"_Don't play with strangers especially those who look like the brotherhood,"_ Rogue chanted, echoed by Bobby. "_Especially the ones who look like the brotherhood._"  
  
"_Ah, my children,_" Xavier sighed, clasping his hands together and smiling.

* * *

_Random Line from the Next Chapter:  
  
Unavaliable  
  
End of Random Line_


	14. French and Logan, the Anarchist

"Remy, please come in and have a seat. Would you care for a smoke?" Charles Xavier smiled at the young man, new adult, that entered his office then waited for the door to shut. He turned his wheelchair around until he could face the young man, forcing his expression to remain cheerful. "Are you planning to smoke?"  
  
"_Non_, Remy be fine for now. What you want to see Remy foh?" he asked, slumping into a chair and crossing his legs at the ankles. He yawned and stretched his arms until he could prop his head upon them.  
  
Charles steepled his fingers together then spoke. "I'd like you to tutor a student in French, Remy. She's barely passing and the course is _required for graduation_ at Ripley, though it doesn't have to be French she passes," he said, casting a brief glance around his office. It looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in a few days, though that was probably due to the large stack of papers piled on one side.  
  
"What does this have to do wit' Remy, Professor? It seems de chile should simply take anot'er foreign language class, _non_?" he asked after listening for another moment. He waited a moment then smiled, making sure it was charming but with a conspirital wink. "The _femme_ need some extra credit, Professor?"  
  
"Remy Lebeau, this girl is underage. I expect you to teach her French and **nothing more** especially nothing that involves touch or anything else, understand?" There was no longer a friendly note to his voice but instead there was a note of wary distrust, shadowed by something that bordered on worry. "...this isn't your average student, Remy."  
  
"Relax. How bad can one _femme_ be?"  
  
There was a knock at the door then Katherine entered, casting a quick glance at Remy. It matched the professor's expression except there was something like laughter present there, too. "This is your incredible French tutor, Charles?" she asked, softly without coming into the room more than a few steps.  
  
"Remy speaks English and French, fluently, Katherine. He'll make an exceptional tutor for Angel, though he may need a lecture or two about appropraite behavior." Charles' attention slid his direction on the last words but any further rant was saved by another knock. "Come in, Angel."  
  
_Time to meet the femme that Remy will use to make chere jealous_, Remy though, rising from his chair as the door was pushed completly open and his student entered. His eyes almost popped out at the sight of the teenager, though it **wasn't** **with** _interest_ but _more recognition_.  
  
"Hi, Rems," came her amused greeting from behind the blue smirk that represented her mouth. She held what looked like some sort of bag over one shoulder and hanging down on the left side, though it was overflowing with books and other such junk. The bag, itself boasted a giant pink A along with pink outline and several stripes on one side.  
  
Remy took a breathe then returned his attention to the professor. "Somet'ing has come up, suddenly. De opening in Remy's schedule was suddenly filled, Professor," he said with an apologetic grin that said everything except that he was sorry.  
  
Katherine shook her head. "It doesn't work that way, Remy. Besides, it seems you would be the obvious choice especially since you have a prior meeting with her," she said, smiling with the looks of one who knew too much. She adjusted her position then indicated one hand toward Angel then Remy. "I trust you remember Remy Lebeau, Angel?"  
  
She nodded. "Yep. Who could ever forget the _**Cajun Charmer**_?" she asked with a sarcastic edge that reminded him of Rogue, though had it's own eerie quality.  
  
"Pleasure to see you again, _cherie_," came the mumbled response before he slumped back into the chair and banged the heel of one hand against his forehead. He mumbled a bit more, though none of that mumbling seemed to be even close to _English or any other known language.  
_  
Angel frowned. "You shouldn't talk **Gibberish**. Not everyone can speak it."  
  
"Be quiet, _cherie_," Remy said, glaring at her. He fixed Xavier with a look that said he was already regretting his decision to help out with tutoring the students; his attention slid back toward Angel and he sighed. "Why are you flunking?" he asked on their way out of the room, closing the door on the tail end of his sentence and before her response.  
  
"_I think_ it's because _I'm paid_ **not to show up** in classes in exchange for good grades except Nanaki figured out how the system works," she explained, digging through the zippered side of her bag. She pulled up a crumpled ball after a moment and tossed it to him then zipped the pocket back up, returning it's former pink stripe to view. "That's the note."  
  
He skimmed it then shook his head. "_Petite_, you can't learn a foreign language if you never come to class or even at least attempt to participate in class. Who exactly paid you not to show up in French class, Angel?" he questioned, walking through the halls with her trailing behind him, humming, tunelessly.  
  
"_The teacher_," came the distracted response.  
  
_I wonder if Remy will get paid extra money to teach the child to speak French. The money could come in handy with gaining Rogue's love and adoration...._ He could put his happiness and sanity on hold, briefly to make sure the demon learned how to speak another language then return to trying to forget who she was.  
  
_I am not a demon, Remy!  
  
Get out of my mind, Angel!  
  
Sheesh, touchy subject._  
  
He'd met Angel and several of the other Ripley students during his earlier time, before he'd gotten involved with the X-men and even before he'd known who Magneto and his fellow Acolytes were. Katherine, only slightly younger at that time than she was now, had approached him during a brief visit to the school on business for his father.  
  
The woman had obviously mistaken him for someone and taken him into a classroom full to the brim with sixth graders. He'd thought it was all a joke at first until she'd walked out and left him with the children. That was when he met _Angel_. The little demon that had grown into the bigger demon that was following him down the hall, accompanied by her own tuneless whistling.  
  
Remy remembered clearly that the children had lied to him several times throughout the two hours he'd been stuck there. Katherine had said these kids shouldn't be left alone even for a few minutes, though with his older looks he'd look more adult than his seventeen-some-odd-years at the time of the incident.  
  
Angel had offered her assistance then given him improper information, lying about several different factors and even getting them a recess. It was his own fault for not knowing that sixth graders didn't get a Recess; how many people knew that just off the top of their head?  
  
"Are you going to help me pass French, Rems?" she asked, jogging slightly to catch up with his much longer leg strides. By the time she caught up there was a ragged tone to her breathing and something similar to several coughing gasps. "Slow...do..down.."  
  
"_Oui, cherie_. I'll try but even Remy isn't a miracle worker," he replied off-hand, missing her aggravated expression and the 'hmph' sound that accompanied it. He darted into the first empty classroom he came upon then yanked her into the room by one arm, earning another sound similar to hers from the hall before colliding with a table. "Sorry."  
  
"No, you're not. How exactly do you plan to help me pass my foreign language, Rems?" she questioned after a moment, half-falling, half-tripping into a chair so that her bag fell onto the ground, spilling books and other junk onto the floor. She made no move to gather her things up once again.  
  
"Remy has no idea yet. He'll figure it out after a few lessons... what's the **hardest part** of French?"  
  
"_The fact that I'm paid not to show up?_" Angel offered with a shrug, removing a notebook from the jumbled pile then tossing the others back into her bag. She removed a pen and sat back as if waiting for him to explain the French language to her.  
  
_Would anyone miss her if I murdered her and buried the body in the back grounds of the institute? It would certainly solve several problems and also give Remy several different ways to get out of this tutoring session...  
_  
"Pay attention, Rems. I'd hate to tell Katherine _**you're not helping me**_," she sing-songed, grinning, "The only words I'm really sure how to say are _faux amis_ and most of the family tree. I've gotten several things thrown at me for using too much French around the house, though that could be due to the fact that I learned...."  
  
"Enough! Remy will teach you French as long as you repeat nothing about his previous history and also **avoid public contact** or **even** **acknowledgement**."  
  
She saluted. "Yes, sir. Where should we start, Rems?"  
  
"Do you know the difference between _feminine_ and _masculine_ terms or usages of words?" he asked, thinking back over the things his tutors and other relatives had taught him. He sighed when Angel just stared at him without saying anything; this was going to take some work. "Okay, we'll start with telling the difference between _feminine_ and _masculine_ terms..."

* * *

Smoke wafted around his head and the sound of something similar to heavy metal rock music pounded against his head. He shoved through the mass of jumping and screaming bodies only to get caught up inside antoher crowd that was also jumping around to the band that was doing more screaming than singing.  
  
_How did I get talked into this part of the deal?_ Logan wondered, shoving his way between a clutter of teenagers that barely acknowledged his prescence beyond brief smirks and chuckling sounds. He was planning to have a rather long, possibly painful talk with the kid about this stunt. _Why would the kid want to hang out in a place like this? That Keller kid.  
_  
The sound of a faint, slightly familiar voice, greeted him further into the room, though it wasn't usually so giddy or friendly. There was almost a note of normality to her voice and it worried him. It worried him a lot.  
  
"Rogue!" He called her name then waited, listening for any type of response, but he doubted that she heard it. It was almost impossible to hear within the club unless, of course, one had enhanced senses; the band had tuned into a louder song among the screaming, jumping fans. "**ROGUE!**"  
  
_That kid is never stepping foot outside the institute ever again. I'm going to make sure of that, if I have to stand outside her door myself...._ Logan forced his way between what looked like about ten high school kids who were jumping and attempting to dance to the noise pollution that was flowing from the stage. He gritted his teeth and pushed through even further, scanning the crowd for the familiar slash of white hair among otherwise auburn colors. _Stripes is never allowed to leave the manage again...at least not until she's in her thirties.._  
  
"Hey, look who found his way to the _**hottest spot**_ _**in downtown Bayville**_," someone greeted from his left, amidst the giant cloud of smoke that swirled above their heads. The voice was infused with mocking laughter and an obvious dislike toward him. "You looking for the Rogue one?"  
  
He turned and gave Jax a look that could have stopped someone's blood cold. The look and the cold edge in his eyes were lost on the snake mutant; Jax smirked and waved one hand.  
  
"Come on. She's over there with Landon and a couple of other friends; **it's not** like we kidnapped her and forced into the place against her will, Logan," Jax chided with a couple clicking flicks of his tongue against his teeth. He started away, pushing and shoving his way through the throng of people that were taking over almost every avaliable inch of space. "Landon _invited her_ and **she** _chose to come_. You're _**too much**_ of a mother hen."  
  
"Just show me where she is." The command held an underlying threat that still didn't affect Jax beyond a snickering hiss.  
  
Their progress slowed upon reaching what looked like a winding set of stairs that were really nothing more than metal welded together into steps with a twisted metal beam, passing for a banister. He wondered for a moment if the makeshift staircase would hold the combination of his weight, Jax's weight, and the other people who were scurrying up or down the stairs.  
  
"Relax. This thing can support way more people than you'd think..."  
  
"Where's Rogue?"  
  
Jax didn't answer immediately but continued up the stairs, speaking to several people they passed on their way down. Several of the faces looked familiar but that could have just been in his mind; he didn't think many of his students were stupid enough to come to a place like this.  
  
"Your father's here, Rogue," Jax announced, approaching one of the upper balcony areas that was just as packed with people as the first level. It's only advantages were being higher up and further from the band that dominated the majority of the lower floor. "Tell him hi."  
  
"I don't have a father, Jax, or if I do he's really late in getting involved in my life," came Rogue's response from the mass of bodies that had cluttered at almost the middle of the room. Every now and then, he could catch sight of a section of white hair but several of them turned out to be strangers who just happened to have white hair. "Cute joke, though."  
  
"_Stripes_, get over here. **NOW!**"  
  
Several people glanced over then returned to their dancing. There was an audible sigh from somewhere inside the newly formed mosh pit. It turned into a voice after a moment then directed a greeting toward him.  
  
"Hi, Logan."  
  
"Mind telling me what _you're_ doing here?" Logan demanded, walking over to the cluttered group and straining to see the owner of the voice. He caught sight of Landon several times then Rogue but the two kept moving as though to move away from him, though Jax had vanished back into the crowd.  
  
Rogue's reply barely made it to his ears. "Making friends. _Didn't the Professor and Jean say ah was anti-social? _**Ah'm learnin' to have fun and get ta know people, Logan.**"  
  
"It's just a club, Logan. We didn't _kidnap her_ and _drag her_ halfway to _Mexico _for_ voodoo rituals_ or anything. Chill, dude," Landon said, appearing through an opening with Rogue trailing behind. Their hands were connected by holding hands.  
  
Rogue dropped his hand when Logan's gaze came to rest on their clasped hands.  
  
"Let's go, Stripes," he commanded, starting away without even a glance toward the others gathered around or Landon. He turned back once to glare at her. "There's half a dozen folks running through Bayville looking for you, kid. If you live to turn eighteen, it'll be miracle..."  
  
"How do ya know ah'm not already eighteen?" came Rogue's retort, accompanied with a smirk.  
  
"Go ahead, Rogue. I'll see you later."  
  
Landon's words jerked him to a halt, and he glowered in their direction. "Stripes, start outside. You know what my bike looks likes... go to it."  
  
"Gimme a minute, Logan. Sorry, Landon. Ah didn't figure my watch dog would come this far," she apologized, speaking quietly but loud enough that the words could be heard by him. She kissed two of her fingers then placed them against the side of Landon's mouth. "Ah'll see ya later."  
  
He smiled. "Later, Rogue."  
  
"After you, _sugah_," Rogue said, gesturing in front of her toward the stairs. She adjusted her top, slightly so that it covered her stomache once again.  
  
Logan took in her clothes, starting at the gray sheer shirt that covered her usual black tank top then down to the oversized black pants that could have fit a good half the institute kids into one pants leg. His expressions grew even more wary at the sight of her oversized combat boots, laced and tied together with what looked like a combination of black and gray laces.  
  
"Whose fashion sense have you been stealing?" he asked, gripping the under part of her arm and all but yanking her down the stairs. He didn't release her _**even**_ when she began to fum and fight against him, even when people began to stare at the two of them; he mumbled the first response he could come up with. "She's underage and my daughter."  
  
"_Ah I ain't ya daughter, Wolvie!_ Let go of me!" Rogue fought a moment longer until they reached outside then just glared at him. She crossed her arms and struck a defensive post that made him feel somewhat like he was the bad guy. "It's not lahke ah was killin' someone, Logan! Gawd, ah was just havin' fun with some friends!"  
  
"Did it occur to you that _people would worry_ if you vanished?" he demanded, glaring right back at her. "Xavier has half the institute looking for you. Do you have any idea how many people are worried about you?"  
  
"Ah was with Landon. He ain't gonna let nuthin' happen to me! Why can't ya trust me, Logan?"  
  
"You haven't earned trust and neither has he. What kind of trust worthy guy drags someone, a mutant at that, who can absorb people into a place like that with so many people? Does he not realize the risk being run? Do you not?"  
  
"Landon wouldn't do anythang to hurt me!"  
  
"I'll be the _judge_ of that."  
  
"Ya don't trust anyone! Why don't ya just become an _anarchist or somethin'?_" Rogue demanded, glaring at him. She didn't even flinch when he tossed a helmet her way but continued to glare.  
  
"Put the damn thing on, Rogue. We're going."  
  
She waited a few minutes longer then put the helmet on, fastening it under her chin. "_Anarchist_. How come ah could do stuff lahke this with Remy? He once worked for Magneto!"  
  
"Shut up arguging and get on. I have the feeling that you're about to get a long talking to..."  
  
"From you?" she demanded, getting onto the bike but glaring at his back the entire way. "Be still my beating heart." She faked a swoon and dramatic pose, falling back so that she almost fell off.  
  
"_Keep that up and I'll call your mother._"  
  
Rogue went silent. When she spoke next, her voice was quiet and sounded somewhat lost. "Ya _wouldn't really_ call Mystique about somethin' lahke this wouldya, Logan?" she asked, opting for false innocence.  
  
"Yeah, Stripes, I would."  
  
"Darn _Anarchist_."  
  
**_"Shut it, Stripes."_**

* * *

_Random Line from Next Chapter:  
  
"Don't you want a good-night kiss? You know you liked the last one..." He smirked and leaned against the door, watching her expressoin change from normal into anger. He moved out of the way just in time to avoid getting smacked again.  
  
"I don't want a kiss from you or any other guy, Logan. LEAVE ME ALONE."  
  
The door slammed in his face.  
  
End of Random Line from Next Chapter_


	15. The Language of LOVE

_Author's note: If you'd like to view the video Angel watches during this chapter follow these instructions:  
1. Visit 2. Watch the video.  
3. Find a friend 4. Visit 5. Watch the video with your friend.  
6. Repeat steps 1-5.

* * *

_"_Chalk_." Remy Lebeau read the word from the printed sheet before him. He scanned the sheet in an attempt to understand the hurriedly typed, hot pink, overly large font that Jean had used while creating and printing out a so-called study guide for helping Angel. 

"Gotcha," she said, scribbling something onto the paper before her and then focusing her attention back on the computer monitor. Images flashed back and forth across the computer screen as the sound of voices, singing voices, at that, blaring through the speakers. "Next word."

"It might help to turn the television off, _cherie_," he told her then skimmed one finger down the list. He stopped on the twelth word down then read it aloud, giving the English term. "_Student_, both forms."

Angel didn't blink or look away from the monitor's screen. Her attention had barely pulled itself away from the screen for more than a few minutes in the entire hour and a half since he'd begun the third day of their tutoring sessions. It was almost impossible to decipher the shapes that had been dancing on the screen for the length of that time, though it appeared to be a single videoclip playing, repetitively.

"Turn the television off, _cherie_."

"You're not much fun, Remy," she said but lowered the volume, leaving the image to play on the screen. She focused on her paper again then looked up. "What was the last word?"

Remy sighed. "_Student_, both forms."

There was silence for fifteen minutes while she finished writing down the French terms for the English words he'd been giving her. The test was of twenty different words or phrases and checking to see what she actually knew from class or what things she'd paid attention to. Remy had administered the test twice and both times had showed that she'd forgotten the majority of what was taught in the class; he attributed that to the checks she'd seen that the French teacher, Margolian, often paid her to stay out of class.

"Here you go, Remy," she said with feigned sweetness as she passed over the paper. It had barely left her hand when she adjusted the volume on the computer screen back into it's previous position. Angel, herself, had leaned back in a chair with her arms behind her head and eyes focused on the monitor before her.

For the first time, he began to make out words in it while going over the test to see which were wrong and which were right. So far, she'd gotten the first half of the test correct.

The speakers on the computer blasted with the words coming from the flashing images on the glowing screen. "_Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger_." It was rare to hear the pattern change except for, "_Mushroom, mushroom, mushroom_" and the occassional sound of something about a snake. The very sound was beginning to grate on his nerves.

"Why don't we turn that off right now, _cherie_? You appear to have improved on your French skills..." The words trailed off when he noticed the last seven answers weren't even written in French but another language. He stared at them a moment before tilting first his head then the paper to study the words. "What language are these last ones?"

"Spanish, I _**think**_," came the distracted response from the seveteen-year-old who had her attention completly focused on the computer screen, repeating the words along with the voice filtering from the speakers.

"This is your last warning, Angel. Turn it off. **NOW**."

His words were ignored as was his prescence and the threat behind the words.

_I hate teenagers. They're so hard-headed_, Remy thought then removed a deck of cards from one pocket. His hands moved through the motions of shuffling without really paying any attention to them except to select several cards from the deck. He gave the card a small amount of charge then flicked it toward the computer screen and it's captivated audience of one.

Angel shrieked and jumped back, barely avoiding falling over the table where her backpack and his junk were laid out. The computer screen shot a tiny sparks for a moment as the screen went inward then there was silence. She glared at him, hard.

"What was _that _for?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him.

Remy shrugged. "I told you to turn it off. You didn't listen, _cherie_... and why did you write the last set of answers in Spanish? We're studying **French**, the _language of love_, not **Spanish**, the _language of fugitives_," was his answer despite his never looking up from comparing her test with the study guide beside him. "I can see you haven't learned much of anything, right? Is there anything you know in French, for sure?"

She nodded. "_Faux amis_," she told him before sticking her tongue out. She didn't even wait for his reaction but dug through her backpack until she came up with a Rubic Cube that must have been at least six inches on each side. Her attention settled upon the object as she began to untwist and twist it, in an attempt to return the cube to it's correct shape. "And I know how to say you suck in French but _Margolian_ doesn't know that..."

"Oh, you do..?"

Angel told him in a politest voice imaginable, using the French language with perfect enunciation and the right amount of cheerfulness to be aggravating. "How was that, Rems?" she asked, sweetly. Her attention remained focused on the rubics cube as she pointedly gave it a couple more twists that did nothing helpful.

"What happened to not knowin' French, _cherie_?" Remy asked, handing back her paper that had several answers crossed out along with the corrections that were required for the words to be French and accurate in one she was supposed to write.

"I never said I didn't _know_ French. Everyone _**assumes**_ that I don't know French because I don't excel in the subject like the rest of the students, but then again... I can speak and write French to an extent." Her words were matter-of-fact and had lost their distracted edge that normally permenated her words. She sighed and stared up at the ceiling, leaning back in her chair. "Are we done? I have things to do.."

"Such as..?"

"I'm sure you have something to do. What about Rogue? I bet you two have plans for today," she said in the same matter-of-fact, undistracted tone of voice that grated his nerves. She chipped at the peeling paint on her nails with a yawn and something mumbled that didn't quite reach his ears. "I just know that the relationship counselors helped your relationship as they helped the rest of us."

Remy blinked at her, shoving the study guide and other items he'd removed, including the cards, into the pockets of his trenchcoat. "Those two actually fixed your relationship with that fool..?"

She shook her head. "Nope, but what harm did lying ever do? If you've seen Julius' hand, you know we haven't really solved our problems. I threw a book at him yesterday and his hand took the impact of it especially since it was a dictionary," she said as though that answered everything. It probably did between those two but then again, Rogue wasn't exactly the nicest or best behaved female either.

Remy shook his head. "And you threw the dictionary at this _homme_ because..?" he asked, standing and slipping his trenchcoat back on. He adjusted the jacket until it fit his shoulders properly then dropped down to cover his wrist and black gloves, several fingers missing from each hand.

"It doesn't matter. Julius deserves everything that I've ever done to him," Angel repeated for the second time since they'd begun getting together on a regular basis for her tutoring. She shouldered her bag and shoved the work they'd done into a notebook before slipping it into the bag, too. "What goes around comes around, Remy."

"Of course, _cherie_. Ever heard the phrase _'Lie down with dogs and you'll get up with fleas'_?" Remy walked with her through the halls and out of the school, lighting a cigarette when they reached the front doors. He placed the end between his lips and sucked on it until the tip glowed orange then faded into gray ashes; he blew the curling smoke over their head.

"Every day that Aunt Kristal's alive. Where do you people get these little quotes and things? I mean, there's that thing about people unable to yell fire in a crowded theater and..." She continued to talk about different quotes and such that her aunt or friends often repeated toward her but Remy stopped listening.

His mind had gone back to what plans he could coax Rogue into tonight. He'd just have to add the right amount of pressure, maybe even get Kurt involved with the process, and she'd have to agree or risk him causing a scene that wouldn't be forgotten for days.

Rogue always gave in now rather than cause scenes.

Remy blew another curling cloud of smoke into the sky. "Do you ever shut up, _ange_?" he asked, using the French term for angel rather than calling her by her name. It seemed more natural and didn't seem quite the contradiction that angel represented; there was no way she'd ever be mistaken for an angel or even someone quiet.

"Sometimes. Can I have a cigarette, Rems?" she asked, a few moments had passed with her simply watching him smoking. She seemed intrigued but also focused on putting something into her bag, though her attention shifted at his staring. "What? Am I not allowed to smoke..?"

"You're too young." He offered the pack anyway, shaking one cigarette out than holding out his lighter. She waved it away in favor of the neon pink lighter she'd removed from inside one of her jacket pockets, flicking the flame up and lighting the end; the smoke came out in a slow breathe that swirled the smoke. "You're entirely too young..."

"How old were _**you**_ when you started smoking?" Angel asked after a minute of smoking in silence. She held the cigarette and placed it into her mouth with such ease that it almost made Remy question her about it but changed his mind.

"Twelve."

"Ha. I didn't start until a couple months after my sixteenth birthday," she informed him in a pleased voice, sucking on the end that was held between her lips, turning slightly blue from the lipstick caked across her mouth. She held the cigarette between two nails, black painted with a couple of hot pink stripes down each one.

"And what's your point, _cherie_?" he asked.

"The point is that you were addicted before I even knew what a cigarette was."

There was the honk of a horn then Angel flicked the cigarette onto the ground and stepped it out with the toe of her shoe. She adjusted the strap of her bag then kissed Remy on the cheek before hurrying down the steps. "That's Julius! Later, Rems. Catch you tomorrow," she called back before scurrying across Bayville's astroturf and to the waiting motorcycle.

Remy watched their conversation for a minute, noting her hand gestures and the movements of Julius' head. It appeared the two were having a problem but within moments, it was over. She'd climbed onto the bike behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist; the bag had been slung over so that it's strap went over one shoulder and around her neck, hanging down. The move appeared both _hazardous_ **and** _hard to maintain_.

"Young people today. They all a lost cause," he said himself before flicking his cigarette into the nearby grass. He crushed it beneathe the toe of his combat boots before heading toward the faculty parking lot where he'd parked his bike, though there was no guarantee that it would still be there. Another thanks he could offer Rogue later, if it wasn't.

Sure enough, his bike was missing from it's spot.

"_Mon dieu, cherie_!" Remy yelled at the lot then started to walk. It wouldn't take that long especially if he could convince someone to pull over and offer a ride.

_Oh, the joys of hitchiking.

* * *

_

There was rain falling and Damien was on the verge of canceling their extra credit work. It was almost impossible to work on anything for woodshop while locked in the small out building that had been converted upon the announcement of Damien's teaching area. 

Tara Toynbee glared at the rain falling outside the plate glass window and turned back to Damien. "I need to make-up for my sorry grades in your class, Damien. There's nothing we can do to earn the extra credit?" she demanded, using '_we_' to encompass Russ who had begun playing with something in one of the closets. She was trying to ignore him and his mumbled words which was becoming increasingly difficult.

Damien shook his head. "Tara, it's time to accept the fact that you're not good at everything and deal with your D."

She shook her head in a way that made the short, green streaked strands of hair hit her in face, though none of this phased her. "I need to pass, Damien! Either help me earn a passing grade or I'll...I'll tell Katherine and Xavier that you pay the other students not to show up..."

"Go ahead. There's **no proof** especially not with Angel, though there's always those products she turns in from time to time even though none are made of wood," he said, adding the last part as more an afterthough than anything else.

Russ' voice echoed from out of the closet. "_Hey, look_! It's a robot..." His words faded out of hearing only to be replaced by the whirring, buzzing sounds of the robot before him.

_I'm going to kill him before we even get anywhere close to getting the extra credit that we both need so much_, Tara thought with a glare in the direction of him. Instead of Russ appearing, a small metallic robot with vibrant orange eyes and what appeared to a stick of some sort that had been covered in duct table until it was antena shaped. _How can one person cause so much aggravation? I mean, he's more annoying than Angel sometimes..._

"The robot survived after all these years?" Damien questioned, crouching to pick up the small robot that had begun walking in circles around one of table legs, propped inside a bright green tennis ball. He held it inside the palm of one hand then pressed an area beneathe one of it's stubby, metal arms which felt hot.

The robot went still.

Damien smiled. "It survived all these years."

"If you're this concerned about a stupid, little robot, imagine how you'll act if we were to dredge up one of your old girlfriend's..." Tara smirked at the mental image the words represented. She almost asked for the name of or a list of his old girlfriends' then thought better of it and held her tongue. "Extra credit, Damien? Yes or no?"

"Yes." Damien walked around behind his desk and rummaged through the catch-all drawer of his desk with a frown. His hand reappeared, clutching a sheet of white coper paper that had been photocopied from another copy, after a moment. "Since you and Russ are both flunking, you can work together..."

Something crashed inside the closet and she groaned. "Damien..."

He shook his head. "No. Either you and Russ work on this together and succeed_** or**_ you'll both flunk this class and have to take it again. Comprende, Tara?" he asked with his hand clutching the paper extended toward her. The paper vanished inside his large hand, covered in scars and wood shavings from the class.

"Comprende," Tara agreed after a moment then took the parchment as a group of forks clatter from down the hall and into the room. It was chased, moments later, by Russ' tall form, though he hardly looked the part of an 18-year-old computer genius. "What exactly is it?"

"The flyer explains it all, but the condensed version is that it's a competition for robot fighting in an _underground system_ and open to anyone from ninth grade through the first four years of University or college. In order to pass this class, without flunking and performing something illegal, you'll have to create a robot, compete in the competition, and make at least the Nationals." Damien outlined the competition for them both once Russ had gathered up his forks and dumped them into the purple, drawstring pouch bag that never seemed to leave his side.

The bag was embelished with the word Corona and a crown plus swirling tinsel that had all been done in gold. It was once the container of some form of alcohol, though it would take a genius to figure out what had once been in there. Russ had started carrying the bah around in their eigth grade year but had since begun adding new items, including marbles and clothespins at some points.

Tara took the flyer and stared at it, hard, calculating if it was worth the amount of time spent with Russ or having to compete in the competition, possibly cheat. It would be worth it to keep her perfect record on grades and win Valedictorian in the next year, though her friends and others made it sound as though she'd already won the honor.

"What's that?" Russ asked, coming up behind her and reading the paper over one shoulder. His dark gaze scanned the page before them both then returned to his little, purple cloth bag that dangled from his hand by it's gold tassles. "Is this our great extra credit work, Damien..?"

"Yep. Are you guys gonna do it or not, Tara? Sign-up _**deadline**_ is in three days, five hours, and thirty-seven minutes..."

Tara hesitated then answered for them both. "We'll do it..."

"Do what?" Damien asked, wanting to hear the words from her own mouth rather than just a mumbled admittance.

"....we'll join the robot competition."


End file.
